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warningsine · 11 months

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WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is retiring from politics in a bombshell announcement.

In a press conference held with just 45 minutes' notice, Mr McGowan said he would step down as premier and member for Rockingham at the end of the week.

"The truth is I'm tired, extremely tired. In fact, I'm exhausted," he said.

Under Mr McGowan’s leadership, WA Labor swept to power in 2017, winning with a huge swing against a Liberal Party led by long-time premier Colin Barnett.

The 55-year-old was re-elected for a second term in 2021 in an extraordinary landslide, winning 53 of the 59 seats in the state's lower house.

He also appointed himself as the state's treasurer following that election. Both that role, and his job as premier, will now need to be filled.

The next WA election is not due until March 2025.

"It has been an honour and privilege to serve the people of the state in my community over this time," Mr McGowan said.

"It is way beyond what I could ever have imagined my career would amount to."

Deputy Premier Roger Cook and Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson are considered likely frontrunners to succeed Mr McGowan as premier, with Mr Cook confirming he had put himself forward for the role.

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson did not say whether she would run for the party leadership, but in a statement praised Mr McGowan as "an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation leader".

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr McGowan called him on Monday morning to notify him of his resignation.

"I want to pay tribute to Mark McGowan. My friend, my confidante, but also an extraordinarily successful premier of Western Australia," Mr Albanese said.

"Mark McGowan has, through social, environmental, and economic policy, built a stronger WA, and I wish him all the very best for the future."

'Relentless' pressure of the job

Surrounded by his cabinet at the press conference, Mr McGowan said the "relentless" pressures of political life had worn him down.

"I've loved the challenge of solving problems, making decisions, getting outcomes, and helping people," he said.

"It comes with huge responsibility that is all consuming each and every day. And, combined with the COVID years, it's taken it out of me.

"I'm not naturally confrontational. But every day I have to engage in argument and debate, and confrontation one way or another. And I'm kind of tired of it."

Mr McGowan said he still believed in the Labor party, and had confidence it would win the next state election.

'I'm convinced WA Labor can win, and will win … but I just don't have the energy or drive that's required to continue in the role as premier," he said.

A 'political juggernaut'

Mr McGowan said he would officially step down by the end of the week, but had no plans for the future.

"I'm going to have a break for a while. Once I'm rested and recuperated, I'll look for something to do," he said.

ABC elections analyst Antony Green said few could have predicted the dominant place the "mild" Mr McGowan would occupy in WA politics after his election defeat in 2013.

"I don't think anybody who met him when he had his first election as opposition leader would think a decade later he would be so dominant across Western Australia," Mr Green said.

"He turned out to be a juggernaut, politically."

WA Opposition and Nationals leader Shane Love said Mr McGowan's resignation would "come at a cost to the Labor party brand".

"There's no doubt that the McGowan name was very much the brand of this particular Labor government," he said.

Both Mr Love and WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam acknowledged the workload that came with Mr McGowan's decision to take on the treasurer role after winning the last election.

"We have always questioned why the premier had undertaken the role of treasurer as well, given the significant size of the caucus that WA Labour has enjoyed," Ms Mettam said.

She said his resignation made no difference to her party's plans at the next election.

"The Liberals have always seen the next state election as contestable," she said.

The 'rock star' premier

Mr McGowan enjoyed overwhelming popularity in his second term throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, enacting the nation's strictest border policies.

The approach came with its critics, with some arguing it was heavy-handed, and prompting then-deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce to describe WA as a "kind of hermit kingdom".

Criticism was even harsher when Mr McGowan postponed his initial border opening date.

However, he consistently argued his approach helped keep West Australians safe and bolstered WA's economy while the rest of the country struggled.

Mr McGowan was allegedly targeted with threats on several occasions by people who were opposed to his hard stance on border controls and mandatory vaccinations.

He also engaged in a legal stoush with mining magnate Clive Palmer that cost WA taxpayers $2 million, centred around a war of words over WA’s border controls and one of Mr Palmer's mining projects.

The premier said the stress of the political battleground throughout the pandemic played a significant role in his decision to resign.

"The COVID experience, basically three years … having to deal with all that, and all the pressure that was associated with that, that drained me a lot," he said.

WA has enjoyed huge budget surpluses throughout Mr McGowan's second term off the back of iron ore royalties and GST payments.

The state is set to record a $4.2 billion surplus this year – a figure that rivals the federal surplus but falls short of the even bigger purses of $5.7 billion and $5.6 billion recorded in the years before.

The Metronet legacy

Outside his role as a pandemic premier, Mr McGowan also took on the challenge of overhauling WA's transport infrastructure with his flagship Metronet election promise in 2017.

The project has been bogged down by delays and thrown off its initial rollout schedule, with the McGowan government pointing at COVID-19 and the state's heated construction market as unavoidable causes.

The most recent major progression was the opening of a rail link from the airport to Perth CBD in October 2022, with other major milestones due in coming years.

"I'd like to open some of the new rail lines, I'd like to see the passing of some of our legislative reform … equal opportunities laws, and the gun laws, and the planning laws, and a whole range of other social reforms that will make the state stronger and better," he said.

"I'll be able to see it. I just won't be at the press conference. That's all."

In recent years, the McGowan Government has faced strong criticism over its management of WA's only juvenile detention centre, Banksia Hill, with ongoing legal action claiming mistreatment in detention.

Mr McGowan has been steadfast in taking a tough-love approach to resolving issues in youth crime, but has been rebuked by some medical professionals, judges, and advocates.

No regrets

On a whole, the Premier said he believed he had achieved what he set out to do when he first entered politics.

"When I was elected as premier I had ambitions for our state. I wanted Western Australia to become the strongest, most successful state in the nation," he said.

"To be become more economically diversified, and have the strongest public finances. To be socially reformist, with landmark achievements in conservation and environmental protection as well. To provide our citizens with quality public services and long term infrastructure, for our long term future.

"I'm not leaving with any regrets."

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