'Clear mandate' as WA Labor secures emphatic third win

Mr Cook was upbeat but looking a tad weary on Sunday when he told reporters it was an "emphatic victory for WA Labor and a vindication of the strong government that we have provided".

"We received an overwhelming majority, a clear mandate to continue to take our policies forward," he said after posing for photos in a cafe in his electorate of Kwinana, south of Perth.

Asked what encouragement Prime Minister Anthony Albanese could take from the result, Mr Cook said the federal Labor leader had "a similar vision for the country as we have for the state".

"The federal landscape is a complex one but we also know that he's provided great leadership for this country," he said when pressed about the chasm between the two men's popularity in the polls.

"He'll be highlighting the sort of things that we were talking about, creating jobs, keeping the economy strong, and making sure that manufacturing is at the heart of our economy."

The victory follows Labor's unprecedented triumph in 2021 when Labor won 53 of 59 seats in the WA lower house, putting it in a nearly unbeatable position for Saturday's poll.

Polls predicted a 12-13 per cent swing, putting up to 11 seats within reach of the Liberal Party.

But the Liberals garnered a swing of less than 10 per cent, failing to claw back the party's previous strongholds as hoped. 

"The liberals didn't put in the hard work ... to earn the votes of the people in WA," said Mr Cook, who replaced former premier Mark McGowan mid-term in 2023 when he stood down.

Asked whether Labor would review its support for the oil and gas industry in the wake of a 28 per cent swing away from the party to a Climate 200-backed independent in the undecided seat of Fremantle, Mr Cook was reflective.

"You have to make decisions in the best interest of your entire state and that sometimes disappoints some people," he said.

Labor secured 41 lower house seats in 2017. The Liberals won 13 and the Nationals five in that poll.