COLIN Barnett says soaring household bills could cost him the next election - but the Premier has told struggling families to reassess their spending on Foxtel, mobile phone calls and the internet before pointing the finger at his Government.

And Mr Barnett told The Sunday Times his May Budget - the last before the March 2013 state election - would look at helping families with relief measures, including cheaper child care.

He admitted his rises of 57 per cent over three years in electricity charges after 10 years of frozen tariffs could cost him the top job. But the man who landed himself in hot water last year by saying airconditioners were not a necessity, said WA families could not blame only him if they couldn't make ends meet.

"I know people will say the cost of living has gone up and the focus is on utility charges, particularly electricity, but there are a lot of other factors that have resulted in greater pressure on household budgets," Mr Barnett said.

"I am not criticising it, but how much do people spend on mobile phones, on the internet, on Foxtel and whatever else?

"People spend a large amount of money on that. All that communication and entertainment has become a major item of consumer household spending."

Mr Barnett said electricity would continue to rise but not as much as in previous years.

"The one issue that could cost us government would be issues around the cost of living and when people think of the cost of living they invariably think of electricity charges," he said.

"People might not like me for increasing electricity prices, but I will not be dishonest. I will be open with the public and tell them the situation.

"When we came into government the electricity utilities were running at deficits of nearly $1 billion. Someone has to pay for the electricity."

Mr Barnett said he was "optimistic" about winning the March 9 election next year, but it was no certainty, despite polling showing his popularity soaring.

He was at pains to point out that Labor held 26 seats in the Legislative Assembly compared with the Liberal Party's 24.

He said the Liberal-Nationals Government had "restored confidence" and "respect for government" after several Labor ministers were sacked over Corruption and Crime Commission revelations during the former administration.

He was "most concerned about cost of living pressures on young families" and was looking at options, including state-funded childcare assistance on top of existing Federal Government rebates, in the next Budget.

"If you have a couple both working, once they pay the mortgage and the bills, child care becomes a huge cost," he said.

Mr Barnett said also:

* Children's welfare and improved secondary education, including a plan to bring more community services such as health care and community nurses on to school sites, would be a priority of a second-term government.

* Sunday trading would happen throughout Perth if he was re-elected, declaring "no one would want to get in my way".

* The future of the economy was "very uncertain", despite WA's resources boom.

The Premier said that, if re-elected next year, he would again form government with the Nationals even if he won enough seats to rule the state in his own right.

But in a warning to Nationals leader Brendon Grylls, he said Royalties for Regions funding for the bush would be spent differently, with more focus on roads, sewerage and basic infrastructure.