The PM is reportedly close to heading off – at least in the short-term – a long-running row with the states and territories over the much-debated health and education cuts contained in former Treasurer Joe Hockey’s first budget.

The Federal Government slashed $80 billion in forward spending from those areas in the 2014 budget, a move that drew the ire of the premiers and chief ministers, and incited a PR backlash spearheaded by Weatherill.

The ABC today reported Turnbull has put forward a $7 billion ‘peace offering’ – sneeringly dubbed “hush money” by one state – to short-circuit the potentially damaging fallout ahead of this year’s federal poll.

Weatherill today didn’t deny such an offer was on the table, though he said he was yet to speak to Turnbull personally about it.

“I’ve had discussions with my other colleagues and we’re yet to settle our position first,” he told ABC 891.

But he conceded the olive branch was “better than nothing”.

“It is, provided it’s not suggested it’s the complete solution,” he agreed.

“I certainly haven’t signed off on any agreement of this sort [but] that may be the only thing that we have available between now and the election.

“[NSW Premier] Mike Baird and I have been pushing for a much bigger solution, a 15-year solution, but we have to be realistic – we’re in the shadows of an election and it’s an urgent problem.”

Weatherill said he was scheduled to meet with Turnbull next week “and obviously I expect to discuss these and other matters”.

“It’s one of the top things on the list that we sent to him to discuss,” he said.

“It’s an $80 billion problem, so obviously a $7 billion deal – to the extent that one is being proposed – would just kick the can down the road for a few years… But there is a political price to be paid for the 2014 Hockey budget; it has not been paid, and if this Federal Government goes to the election without paying that bill they can expect to get a lot of heavy weather in the lead up to the federal election.

“And I think they understand that.”

The Premier conceded he as yet had no commitment from either side of Commonwealth politics on health funding, “but it will be a beauty contest between Labor and Liberal in the lead up to the federal election about what they’re going to do about these massive healthcare cuts”.

“No state or territory can consume them and each state and territory leader will be advocating for some movement on that question,” he said.

The Australian Education Union seized on today’s reports to argue Turnbull should match Labor’s promise of long-term funding of the Gonski model.

“Schools need long-term certainty over funding, not a quick pre-election fix,” president Correna Haythorpe said in a statement.

Turnbull declined to provide a “running commentary” on the progress of talks.

“We recognise we’ve got common challenges and always we have to work constructively and cordially together to solve them,” he told reporters in Canberra.

-with AAP