Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled multimillion-dollar housing and defence packages the government hopes will bolster its position in Western Australia, where it could lose a handful of once-safe seats.

Mr Morrison visited Christian Porter’s seat of Pearce and two Labor-held seats on his first day in the state, suggesting the Prime Minister may be feeling more confident about his chances in the West after the first week of the election campaign, which was dominated by coverage of gaffes made by Labor leader Anthony Albanese.