What comes next after Mark McGowan’s resignation with Roger Cook and Amber-Jade Sanderson the frontrunners

An “exhausted” Mark McGowan has called time on his almost three decades-long political career in a shock move set to dramatically reshape the political fortunes of the major parties ahead of the 2025 State election. Mr McGowan’s bombshell retirement, broken first by The West Australian, will bring on a fierce leadership contest for the State’s top job. It will also give the decimated WA Liberals faint hope of a miracle revival. Deputy Premier Roger Cook was the first to announce he would nominate for the vacancy on Monday, while Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said she was sounding out her colleagues. Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson - who along with Mr Cook is from Labor’s dominant left faction - is also considered a strong contender. Late on Monday night, several sources said Ms Sanderson was gaining vital momentum. Announcing the bombshell decision in front of his Cabinet colleagues and with his wife Sarah, Mr McGowan said his six-year term as Western Australia’s 30th Premier had left him “extremely tired”. The father-of-three will resign as both Premier and Member for Rockingham before the end of the week. “The role of political leadership does not stop — it is relentless,” Mr McGowan said at press conference called at the eleventh hour. “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. “It’s not a normal job. Being Premier takes a huge toll on your family life.” Reflecting on criticism received both during, and in the aftermath of the pandemic, Mr McGowan said part of the role was facing“endless questions and conflict”. “You just have to be prepared for that, but frankly, I don’t want to deal with that sort of conflict, confrontation and criticism anymore,” he said. “I don’t want to deal with that anymore. I’m just tired and looking forward to doing something else”. Despite experiencing sleepless nights and “excess worry”, Mr McGowan said he wanted to wait until after the State Budget had been handed down to make the announcement. “I sort of worked out I didn’t want to fight the next election and the next election is 20 months away or so,” he said. “I wanted to give my successor, whoever that is, the opportunity to cement themselves and create their own way and their own agenda, and enough time to bed themselves in.” Refusing to announce his preference for a successor, Mr McGowan said he would leave it to his colleagues and the party to elect the next leader, and that he was not irreplaceable. “There’s some great people here and I’m sure whoever the Premier is will do a great job,” he said. “If people want my assistance or advice they can ring me but I’m not going to be one of those people that you know, is always on the TV or calling up or harassing or those things.” Mr McGowan revealed that he told some of his Cabinet ministers — many of whom looked upset and shocked by the announcement — on Monday morning, along with his family and some staff. Labor sources said an emergency caucus meeting would be called to start the replacement process. Labor Party rules dictate that if more than two candidates receive support from 15 or more Caucus members, the election will go to a vote of all Labor Party members — which would be a first for Western Australia. Votes from party members will account for half of the result, while a Caucus vote will make up the other half. He said he didn’t have any plans for the future at this stage “but I don’t want to stop work”. Mr McGowan said it had been an honour and privilege to serve the people of WA. “It is way beyond what I could ever have imagined my career would amount to,” he said. First elected to the seat of Rockingham in 1996, Mr McGowan went straight into the Shadow Ministry, and following Labor’s election in 2001, he was made Parliamentary Secretary to Premier Geoff Gallop in 2001. He was elevated to the Cabinet in 2005, and served in range of roles, including tourism, environment, and education, under both Mr Gallop and his successor Alan Carpenter. Becoming Opposition Leader in 2012, Mr McGowan and Labor went on to lose a number of seats in the 2013 State election. In 2016, amid poor polling for Mr McGowan, former Federal Minister Stephen Smith made a pitch for the party leadership. The bid failed, and Mr McGowan won the 2017 State election in a landslide. Facing the pandemic in his first term, Mr McGowan’s popularity surged on the back of his Government’s response. Polling showed that 91 per cent of West Australians were satisfied with his performance in September 2020. At the 2021 State election, Mr McGowan was emphatically re-elected, with Labor winning 53 seats in the Legislative Assembly, largely off the back of his approval rating. Saying he had “no regrets” over his time in Government, Mr McGowan flagged securing a fair GST share for Western Australia, returning the Budget to surplus and regaining the triple-A credit rating as some of his key achievements. “I’m actually very proud of some of the environmental things, it’s going to be five million additional hectares in national marine parks by the end of this term, not cutting down forests anymore,” he said. Mr McGowan also flagged the rollout of Metronet, the passage of voluntary assisted dying laws, electoral reform, and significant investment in TAFE as other successes. Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes said Mr McGowan had been an “inspirational” Premier whose wise leadership during the pandemic had kept the nation from “going broke”. “He has been wonderful for this State and leaves behind a legacy he can be really proud of,” Mr Stokes said. “His judgment during COVID kept our mining sites running and the country from going broke. “Western Australia and the nation has been better for his leadership.” Mr Stokes also said that Mr McGowan’s support for Telethon had been transformative for the children’s charity. During his time in the top job, the State Government’s contribution to Telethon grew from $3m annually to a remarkable $11m last year. Speaking from NSW, where she is on leave, Liberal leader Libby Mettam also paid tribute to Mr McGowan, recognising the difficulty of public service. “I’d like to recognise Premier Mark McGowan’s service to Western Australia,” Ms Mettam said. “After three decades in public life, Mr McGowan has made a significant contribution to our State.” Opposition Leader Shane Love thanked Mr McGowan for his service, which he acknowledged took a toll on MPs and their families. “I think it’s a pressure cooker to be a Premier,” Mr Love said. “I extend my best wishes to him and to his family.” A by-election for Mr McGowan’s seat of Rockingham will be held in the coming months. Held by Labor on a margin of 37.7 per cent, Labor sources say the shock nature of Mr McGowan’s announcement has meant there is no clear successor for the party’s safest seat.