PUT up or shut up. That would be my advice to any member of the Labor Party who believes they, or someone else, can do a better job leading the party to the election than Mark McGowan.

I find it remarkable his leadership has again been questioned this week when just two months ago a Newspoll found the Rockingham MP was our preferred Premier and was responsible for a rise in WA Labor’s primary vote to above 40 per cent.

Yet with just a bit more than a year to go until the election, there continues to be damaging talk about whether shadow treasurer Ben Wyatt, or Willagee MP Peter Tinley or former federal foreign affairs and defence minister Stephen Smith should replace McGowan as leader.

And now you can throw Alannah MacTiernan’s name into the debate.

These discussions have been taking place for more than a year. The difference now is they are starting to happen publicly.

While they were justified when Labor’s primary vote was languishing in the low 30s, it beggars belief they are still being had when there are such strong indicators that Labor is on track to win the next election.

Camera Icon Joe Spagnolo Credit: News Corp Australia

You have to ask: on what basis would you sack McGowan? His team has done a great job in recent months exposing the Barnett Government’s economic, health, police and transport record. It is absurd that several members of McGowan’s shadow cabinet this week felt they had to contact me to defend McGowan, defend Labor and in some cases defend their own performances.

It has long been my belief that if Stephen Smith was leader of the State Opposition, Barnett could pack his bags immediately and head for his Toodyay farm because he would be defeated at the 2017 election.

But the bottom line is that despite approaches by well meaning Laborites and despite pleas from those close to Smith to seek the leadership of the ALP he has refused to actively do anything about it.

Informed sources say that if a serious approach was made to Smith to lead the party to the next election he would consider it.

But is that likely to happen? I think not.

If Smith wants the leadership he needs to make his intentions known and known soon. After all, Labor preselections are now taking place for crucial seats like Perth and Morley.

The same must be said for MacTiernan. Again, she would be a star candidate. But if she was to move on McGowan it would need to be done within weeks — not months. To let McGowan do the hard work in Opposition and then seek the leadership when the tide is turning and that work is paying dividends would make rivals look opportunistic.

The last time a Labor leader tried to be opportunistic, when Alan Carpenter pulled a snap election in 2008, it lost power.

Camera Icon Federal Perth MP Alannah MacTiernan has announced she will not recontest this year’s federal election. Credit: News Limited

Wyatt infamously decided to challenge Eric Ripper for the leadership of the ALP in 2011, but had to retreat because his supporters abandoned him when the political heat got intense.

There is now no way Wyatt would go down that road again. This time, the leadership would need to be handed to him on a plate. That simply won’t happen when McGowan is doing little — if anything — wrong.

And as for Tinley, he would not be in my top five performers of the ALP shadow ministry. He must shine as a shadow minister before he can be seriously considered as leadership material.

Do I think McGowan will win the 2017 election? If you had asked me this question up until the Newspoll was published last December I would have said no. You cannot win an election with a primary vote in the low 30s.

But right now, McGowan has a good chance at victory.

Little is certain in politics. I still believe the Nationals may be the Liberals’ saviour at the 2017 election by delivering enough seats for the conservatives to retain power.

They are a threat.

But, the biggest threat to Labor is disunity for disunity’s sake.