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STEPHEN Smith has broken his silence, strongly indicating he will lead Labor to next year’s state election if the party wants him.

In a move that will cause ructions within the party, the former federal Labor foreign affairs and defence minister confirmed to The Sunday Times on Saturday that he had been approached by Labor MPs to run for the leadership.

Significantly, he refused to quash growing speculation he wants the top job.

“I have now been approached by members of the state parliamentary Labor Party to contemplate what many people have put to me over the years,” Mr Smith said.

“The starting point is, of course, entirely a matter for the state parliamentary Labor Party.

“If a majority ... formed a view that I could help Labor and the Western Australian community by leading Labor to victory at the next state election, then clearly I would consider my obligations to the party and the future of the state and its people.”

Three years ago, The Sunday Times revealed Mr Smith would be approached by Labor members to lead the party to the 2017 election.

It is understood at least six members of leader Mark McGowan’s shadow cabinet now back Mr Smith, with one senior MP saying yesterday that at least half of Caucus did not believe Labor would win next year’s election.

Camera Icon WA Opposition Leader Mark McGowan. Credit: News Corp Australia, Ross Swanborough

Stephen Smith has “a lot of explaining to do” if he wants to take over as WA Opposition Leader from Mark McGowan, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says.

The Curtin MP weighed into the state Labor leadership debate during a press conference in Suva, Fiji on Monday.

It comes after The Sunday Times and PerthNow revealed Mr Smith is prepared to challenge Mr McGowan if the party wants him.

“I think people will remember that Stephen Smith was a Cabinet minister that, in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Government, brought a mining tax, trashed the Budget, ran up record deficits and trashed the live export industry, so Stephen Smith will have a lot of explaining to do if he runs for high office,” Ms Bishop said.

Mr Smith, 60, the federal member for Perth from 1993 to 2013, was once touted as a future PM. He was already in election mode on Saturday, attacking the economic credentials of the Barnett Government

“I very strongly believe that the outcome of the next WA election is of vital importance to the future of our state and its people,” he said.

“It is essential that Labor wins ... and replaces the Barnett Government.

“Economically, we are at the crossroads. If we are not careful, we will not grow the state’s economy for the future jobs and prosperity of all Western Australians. The Barnett Government has squandered the proceeds of the China boom, run out our state debt and deficit, and lost a hard-won AAA credit rating.

“To restore integrity to our State Budget will require careful management for the rest of this decade.

“It will not be solved by hasty privatisations.

“This failure by the Barnett Government has put significant pressure on the jobs and living standards of many Western Australians.

“They are now finding it very difficult to make ends meet.”

Camera Icon Stephen Smith at the family home in Mount Lawley, where his father Les still lives. Credit: News Corp Australia, Daniel Wilkins

Newspoll, published in January, shows the Opposition can win the 2017 election. It also showed Mr Barnett’s personal popularity was on the nose, with Mr McGowan the preferred leader.

But several Labor MPs have told The Sunday Times that internal polling showed there would not be a big enough swing to win the required 10 Legislative Assembly seats for power. More than 50 per cent of Caucus would need to support a change in leadership — as well as there being a vote at branch level.

He would also need a seat to run in, with Maylands touted as a possibility.

It is understood that Mr McGowan has told colleagues he will not relinquish the leadership without a fierce fight and Mr Smith was destabilising the party.

“All I’d say is that what we saw with Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, with party leaders going through terrible periods of destabilisation, was terrible,” Mr McGowan said.

“And Stephen saw that, like everyone else did. In fact, he was there, so I assume he knows it was a terrible thing.”

Soon-to-be-retired federal member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan said yesterday “deposing a leader who has been doing well and who has been preferred leader for 18 months will not make sense to the public and will take us backwards”.