Even in Mark McGowan's worst nightmares, it would never have been this ugly.

Booing, heckling, walkouts, a tearful apology and a boycott of a keynote speech by a sitting premier, leaving little doubt about the extreme level of division within WA Labor.

"Embarrassing", "disgraceful" and "outrageous" were just some of the words Labor figures used to describe the drama, and there was no shortage of factional finger-pointing over who was to blame.

The fury and the fear

It only took five minutes for the chaos to start at the 2019 WA Labor conference, and it would not have been much longer before Mr McGowan felt a combination of fury and fear.

Fury, because years of effort to portray WA Labor as a united machine catastrophically fell apart by 9:05am at a meeting of what was supposed to be party faithful.

And fear, because his control over his own party now looks shakier than he would have hoped, with rival factions, who have at times made their disdain for Mr McGowan abundantly clear, showcasing their influence in no uncertain terms.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese must be wondering what he has got himself in for, ahead of his speech to the same conference today.

Dozens of delegates chose to remain out of the room during the Premier's speech. ( ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )

The ugliness started when Federal MP Patrick Gorman sought to disqualify a delegate — who allegedly did not meet signup requirements — from the conference.

The right faction was incensed by the attempt, with at least one state MP among those heckling from the crowd, and Mr Gorman's motion was defeated.

But that did not end the anger, with the right faction deciding to walk out — leaving the room during a Welcome to Country ceremony and a tribute to former prime minister Bob Hawke.

Keynote speech lost in disarray

Party president Carolyn Smith was left close to tears as she sought to explain to the Welcome to Country performers that the protest was unrelated to them.

After all of that, Mr McGowan's keynote speech became little more than a footnote, with dozens of delegates choosing to remain outside, leaving the room eerily empty.

A key announcement for the Government — the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws — was totally overshadowed by the drama on the opening day of the conference.

Amid all that, Mr McGowan will be left wondering exactly what the party he leads looks like.

Carolyn Smith assuring the Indigenous representatives the walkout of delegates was unrelated to them. ( ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )

The Premier does not belong to any faction officially, but his supporter base comes from the once-dominant left faction led by United Voice.

United Voice's long-running enormously powerful status found itself toppled two years ago when rival unions united to form their own faction.

The left sought to furiously sign up members ahead of this conference, to take back control, and was cautiously optimistic it had done so.

McGowan's leadership secure, at least for now

But defeat in that first vote — Mr Gorman's motion — upended that, leaving little doubt about the power of the rival Progressive Labor faction.

That will not do anything to jeopardise the safety of Mr McGowan's leadership anytime soon, with the Premier enjoying the overwhelming backing of his current party room.

But if rival factions really do have the edge in the constant battle for control over the organisation, that could have significant long-term implications for both Labor policy and the candidates picked to run for Parliament.

Carolyn Smith near tears as she apologises to Indigenous representatives who performed the welcome to country at the ALP conference. ( ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )

Either way, the substantial influence within Labor of individuals who loathe the Premier — such as Maritime Union boss Christy Cain — was once again made obvious.

'We can't govern ourselves': MP

Government and party officials had spent countless hours ahead of the state conference trying to quell unrest, to avoid displays like those seen on Saturday morning.

A strong and united party of government was the image they were going for, but even the most ardent Labor person would admit the display was a far cry from that.

"Labor is the governing party but we can't govern ourselves," was the brutal assessment by one MP.

And that is an accusation the McGowan Government will likely find itself having to fend off when State Parliament resumes on Tuesday.