Before last Friday’s announcement Mr Murray had a fair idea he would be adding sport and recreation to his racing and gaming responsibilities.

Mr Murray relinquished agriculture but held onto the South-West and Forestry portolios. “There’s a little bit of green in me that upsets many of the forestry people,” he said. “I have always believed we have over-logged.”

Even his father, who had owned a small mill, said at the end of his life “we should not have done what we did”, Mr Murray said.

In addition to his South West shadow portfolio, he is now also taking charge of Great Southern, Goldfields-Esperance and the Wheatbelt – something he had not expected.

Mr Murray will be working closely on these new portfolios with Mr McGowan, who is retaining the Regional Development portfolio and will also take responsibility for Economic Reform.

“Mark was the Minister for the South-West when we were in government,” Mr Murray said.

“We have quite an affinity with the area and it is my home territory.”

While Mr Murray will be working harder, he believes the additional duties will not be a huge issue.

“When I had agriculture, I would get on a plane and fly up to Kununurra, for instance,” he said.

“With all of the south-west areas, I can get in a car and cover quite a lot of shires in a couple of days.”

He has picked up responsibility for all of the state except for the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Mid-West and Peel.

Mr McGowan said: “WA Labor believes regions must be elevated to the leader’s portfolio due to their importance in driving the WA economy and I would retain that portfolio should I become Premier.

Mr McGowan has also made cost of living pressures a top priority by creating a new portfolio dedicated to the issue.

Portfolios focusing on the suburbs, economic reform and early childhood have also been created.

Mr Murray said he was “quite pleased to be part of the new team” and it was as if “fresh air had blown through the caucus”.