Western Australia will establish a permanent base in Canberra to allow state agencies, industries and advocacy groups to better lobby the federal government.
Premier Roger Cook says the hub is about creating "team WA" to ensure the state is at the forefront of commonwealth thinking and decision-making.
"We need a concerted effort to remind Canberra that we're the engine room of the nation's economy," he said on Tuesday in his first major speech since taking over from Labor colleague Mark McGowan as premier.
"We need to unwind decades of eastern states' centric attitudes and thinking in the nation's capital."
The hub will provide for a permanent base in Canberra with state ministers rostered to provide an active presence.
Maintaining the level of GST payments to the state will be a key focus.
It will also be used by industry peak bodies and advocacy groups to allow them to better engage with the commonwealth on their specific agendas.
WA Liberal Leader Libby Mettam said the concept of a Canberra embassy was a "bad joke" and raised questions about the effectiveness of the premier's federal Labor colleagues.
“They were elected to advocate for WA, taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill to pay bureaucrats to do the job of Labor MPs," Ms Mettam said.
Opposition Leader Shane Love said the idea reinforced how out-of-touch Labor was.
"In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, WA Labor's focus should be on the people of Western Australia, not on spending money to outsource the responsibilities of the government to an embassy in Canberra," the WA Nationals leader said.
But Mr Cook said the Canberra strategy was not a criticism of WA's federal MPs but was designed to ensure the state was heard in relation to specific matters of interest or concern.
"So we need all hands on deck here," he said.
"This isn't about politics, this is about team WA."
