The WA election is about to get a dose of star power with a visit from the second-longest serving prime minister of Australia.
John Howard has featured prominently in previous Liberal election campaigns in Perth including last year's federal poll and the 2015 Canning by-election, when he lent support to victor Andrew Hastie.
![Mr Howard's visit comes days before Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits the west for the first time in about six months.](/web/20170216152433im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/8/9/t/a/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gue4lt.png/1487201750578.jpg)
Last year, however, his backing of Luke Simpkins in the seat of Cowan wasn't enough to stop Labor's Anne Aly winning.
Mr Howard's visit comes days before Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits the west for the first time in about six months.
"It's been a long time coming and I think it shows the Liberal party takes Western Australia for granted," WA Labor leader Mark McGowan told reporters.
Mr McGowan has been flanked by federal opposition leader Bill Shorten twice in recent weeks.
Mr Turnbull is under pressure to deliver on his six month-old promise to introduce a floor that improves WA's share of the GST, which has collapsed to well below the other states, ahead of a visit this week.
The Barnett government solely blames its poor GST share for a record $3 billion- plus deficit that has damaged its re-election chances and which it says Treasurer Scott Morrison has the power to fix.
- AAP