Mark McGowan resigns as WA Premier

Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan has made a career-changing announcement on Monday.

Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is stepping down as the state’s leader, admitting his many years serving has left him “exhausted”.

The Premier made the announcement at a press conference at 12.45pm (2.45pm AEST).

“Today I‘m announcing I will be stepping down as Premier and as member for Rockingham. I was elected as Premier of Western Australia in March 2017, more than six years ago,” he said.

“I served as Opposition Leader for five years, I have held the privileged position of WA Labor leader for around 11 and a half years.”

“I have served in Parliament for 26 years as either Premier, Opposition Leader, Minister Shadow Minister Parliamentary Secretary and of course, as the member for Rockingham.”

McGowan said he was “exhausted” by the “all-consuming” position, admitting the Covid years had “taken it out of him”.

Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is stepping down as the state’s leader, admitting his many years serving has left him ‘exhausted’.

“I just don‘t have the energy or drive that is required to continue in the role as Premier. Or to fight that election which would have been my eighth election as a Member of Parliament,” he continued.

“This job is like no other, after seven elections across nearly three decades, now is the right time to step away from the job that I have loved. Therefore, I will be resigning as Premier and member for Rockingham.

“This week will be my final week. It is not a decision I have taken lightly, I’ve been considering it for quite a while. But I needed to hand down a state budget before a made a final decision.”

McGowan said there wasn’t a particular “lightbulb moment” that prompted his decision, citing the ongoing pressure of the state’s top job eventually pushing him past his limit.

“It’s sort of built up over time. I worked out that I did not want to fight the next election 20 months away,” 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 bid themselves in.”

The Premier made the announcement at a press conference on Monday.

McGowan refuted claims his announcement would hurt the Labor party in the next election, placing faith in the people behind him to secure re-election.

However, he warned his eventual successor to be wary of the “all consuming position”, hoping that “they’ll do a better job than me”.

“It is not a road normal role, being a minister is not a normal role, it is all consuming,” he said. “I can’t give advice on that, because I haven’t been very good at balancing things. I hope whoever my successor is, is better at it than me.”

The outgoing Premier said he doesn’t have any plans after he leaves office, only that he wishes to continue to work.

McGowan led Labor back to government with an overwhelming victory over the Liberal government in March 2017, and again at the 2021 election.

He enforced some of the toughest Covid-19 restrictions on travel during the pandemic.

He was also Treasurer of WA and handed down a budget earlier this month.