Campaigning in Western Australia has already begun after the state's Governor announced the date for a Senate re-election.

Candidates outlined their campaign platforms within hours of the announcement.

West Australians will go back to the polls on Saturday, April 5, to re-elect six Senate positions.

Premier Colin Barnett met Governor Malcolm McCusker at Government House this morning to ask him to issue the writs for a fresh election.

"Yesterday I received a letter form the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia informing me that she had accepted the advice of the Prime Minister that a new half-Senate election is required to elect six senators for the state of Western Australia to the senate of the Commonwealth," Mr McCusker said.

"The Governor General has invited me to issue the necessary writ for the Senate half election."

Key timings for the election, including the dates for the close of the electoral roll and candidate nominations, were also set.

Candidates will have until March 13 to nominate.

WA's Senate results from the September election were declared void earlier this month by the High Court sitting as The Court of Disputed Returns.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) had petitioned the court asking for the Senate results to be made void after 1,370 votes could not be found for a recount.

That recount bumped Labor's Louise Pratt and Palmer United Party candidate Dio Wang from the final two positions, in favour of the Green's Scott Ludlam and Wayne Dropulich from the Australian Sports Party.

Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn and the Australian Electoral Officer for WA, Peter Kramer, both quit in the wake of the bungle.

The Federal Government said the electoral commission needed to work to regain the confidence of the community.

Electoral officials estimate a fresh election will cost more than $20 million.

A record number of candidates are expected to run and already the campaigns have begun.

A fresh opportunity

Greens candidate Scott Ludlam said West Australians have been handed a unique and extraordinary opportunity to make history.

"There's never been a situation like this before, and the Greens believe it's an opportunity for Western Australians to send a very strong message to Tony Abbott and back to Canberra not to take this state for granted, and in the lead-up to what is potentially a horror budget for Western Australians, to say that we've had enough and that we want our country back," he said.

"Whether it's cuts to Medicare, cuts to education funding, attacks to the clean energy sector and jobs in the renewable energy industry, attacks on public broadcasting or the extraordinarily degrading way we are treating people who have sought refuge in this country.

He said the election would be a chance to send a very strong message.

"The Greens will be campaigning on clean energy jobs, on affordable housing, on bringing world-class public transport back and finally starting to engage with the question of what kind of jobs will people be able to get in the years after the boom."

Regrettable situation

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the circumstances surrounding the calling of the election were unfortunate and regrettable.

"However, it does give the people of Western Australia the opportunity to have a say on outcomes that will benefit this state," she said.

"What we need is a strong Liberal team in the Senate to work within government to stand up for WA, and our WA Senate team has a history and a record of standing up for what's best for our state of Western Australia. Liberal Senator David Johnston and Foreign minister Julie Bishop say the circumstances surrounding the election are unfortunate and regrettable. ( Rebecca Carmody )

"At this election on the 5th of April, there won't be a change of government, there won't be a change in the balance of power in the Senate because the Liberal Party will not control the Senate, so that means we need a strong Western Australia Liberal team that can work within the government to get the best outcomes for Western Australia."

Liberal Senator David Johnston echoed her comments.

"Just remember that the mining tax particularly, and the carbon tax, were put in place by the Labor Party to punish Western Australians, to take our livelihoods away and to take tax out of Western Australia and redistribute it across the rest of Australia," he said.

"If this election is about nothing else, it's about strong voices at the table of government in Canberra standing up for the rights of Western Australians, protecting them from people who want to see out industries put under pressure and taxed and taxed into non-existence."



Carrying the country

In his campaign launch Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer said Western Australia carried the rest of the country on its back.

"We want to make sure that we can get back some of the GST that's been hooked out of the state by the Liberal and the Labor parties over the years, and make sure that Western Australians get a fair go," he said.

"This is a big time in Western Australia's history to put Western Australia in the balance of power in the Senate."

Clive Palmer announces his campaign ahead of WA's senate re-election. ( Courtney Bembridge )

Mr Palmer, joined by candidates Dio Wang, Chamonix Terblanche and former AFL footballer Des Headland, said West Australians should make their vote count.

"We'll determine our own preference deals if we do any, and where preferences may flow, but we don't see any preferences being distributed," he said.

"People don't vote for money, they vote for ideas, if you've got some bad ideas and you promote them, no-one's going to vote for them."

Mr Palmer threw out a reporter from The Australian newspaper from the press conference.

"There's been a campaign run against me by The Australian because he's upset, because Mr Murdoch's upset that I don's support Tony Abbott as Prime Minister," he said.

"If he (Murdoch) could take over the ABC and take over Australia's media, he'd be very happy."