Incoming WA premier Roger Cook has refused to be drawn on the potential makeup of his front bench, saying he wants to let the process take its course.
Speaking at the WA Day Festival in his first public appearance since Mark McGowan stepped down on Friday, Mr Cook brushed off a host of questions regarding which of his MPs would be given portfolios.
"We are about providing stable, confident government with new energy and new focus," Mr Cook said.
"But you'll continue to see Western Australia be served greatly by this Labor government.
"I anticipate we'll hold the caucus meeting on Tuesday, we'll announce portfolios on Wednesday with the swearing in on Thursday.
"I'll respect that process and we'll be making further announcements about that in the next few days."
Mr Cook rejected suggestions factions within the Labor party would have control of who makes it onto the new front bench.
"This is not simply a matter of one group dictating to another group what it's about, this is about our team coming together to decide which is the best team that we can put forward on behalf of the people of Western Australia."
But the incoming deputy premier, and current Transport Minister Rita Saffioti did not hold back in putting her hand up to take on a number of portfolios, saying she could balance both transport and treasury.
"I'll be keen to do everything if possible," Ms Saffioti said.
But political analyst and Notre Dame University lecturer Martin Drum has cast doubt on whether Ms Saffioti could balance both the treasury and transport portfolios.
He said while there would not be any conflicts of interest, it would be an enormous amount of work for one person.
"It is an extremely heavy workload," Dr Drum said.
"Being transport minister in this government will be especially critical because of the MetroNet project, that still has a long way to go and has many difficult and complex components.
"So when you're doing that and the treasurer role, it would keep her hands full."
'No stone left unturned' on GST
Mr Cook's pathway to replace Mark McGowan became clear last week, when Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson pulled out of the race, and Labor's right faction agreed to endorse his bid for leadership.
He inherits a government with dominance over both houses of parliament after the party's comprehensive 2021 election victory.
Mr Cook says one of his major focuses will be on the federal GST deal, and moved to reassure West Australians the state would not be facing a reduced share under his leadership.
"I'm going to be fighting tooth and nail for WA's fair share of the GST," he said.
"There'll be no stone left unturned in terms of that fight.
"But can I say, Treasurer [Jim] Chalmers and Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese have made it clear that revisiting the GST deal is not on the table."
Mr McGowan took a hard-line stance on youth justice and issues plaguing the controversial Banksia Hill Detention Centre, accusing detainees of engaging in "a form of terrorism" after a riot in May.
Mr Cook last week hinted he and Mr McGowan may have differences in their views, but has again declined to go into specifics.
"My focus is to make sure that people stay safe, that we're keeping the community safe, we're keeping the people who work in the facility safe, and we're keeping those kids safe so we can put them onto a better pathway," he said.
"I think premier McGowan had absolutely the right focus around those elements of safety.
"I'll be taking briefings in the next couple of days and will have more to say next week."
