Premiers and Chief Ministers have met with the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, in Perth, where they were given a special briefing by economist and the man hand-picked to do a review of climate change, Professor Ross Garnaut.

While an emisisons trading scheme, health and water reforms were flagged as the big ticket items on this meeting's agenda, the Prime Minister instead spoke of efforts on infrastructure, consumer credit reforms and energy efficiency when he addressed the media this afternoon.

Mr Rudd announced a special COAG meeting would be held to address the challenge of "closing the gap" on health and welfare differences between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

He said COAG will announce a nationial energy efficiency strategy by the end of the year which will set out the most effective and easiest ways of bringing down energy emissions.

COAG will also implement nationally consistent guidelines for public/private partnerships for major infrastructure projects and the Federal Government will accelerate its priority listing for big ticket infrastructure projects to Christmas, instead of March next year.

On water, Victorian Premier, John Brumby, announced COAG has sought more regular reporting on the progress of water projects across the Murray Darling Basin and the success each has had in returning water to the environment.

The dynamics of COAG had changed for this meeting, with a new Liberal premier from Western Australia, Colin Barnett, sitting at a table dominated by Labor leaders.

It was a first COAG meeting, too, for NSW Premier, Nathan Rees who only took the job last month following the shock resignation of Morris Iemma.