Colin Barnett has implored West Australians not to vote out his eight-year-old government just for the sake of change.
In a last-ditch effort to avoid defeat, the premier also reiterated his insistence on Friday that Labor's $5 billion in promises had not been costed and were not affordable.
Colin Barnett.Credit: Trevor Collens
Mr Barnett also made his strongest admission yet that he was uncomfortable with the preference deal struck with Pauline Hanson's One Nation imposed on him by the party executive to try and hold on to power.
"The biggest obstacle we face as a government is not anger at the government, it is just simply that we have been in government a long time," he told reporters.
"It is a long time but recognise that it has also been a damn good government."
WA's economy had grown by 40 per cent during his tenure, he said, and now represented 40 per cent of the nation's exports on the back of the resources sector - "more than NSW, Queensland and Victoria put together, little old Western Australia".
"This state been well-run and prospered through difficult times. Yes, people have lost their jobs, there has been unemployment, but that is the nature of the cycle."
Mr Barnett said the economy was coming back strongly but it would "stagnate under Labor".
He refused to admit he was feeling nostalgic during what was likely to be his final press conference at the Office of Premier, should a spate of polls leading up to Saturday's election prove correct.
Part of the problem, according to political analysts, is that the Liberals have been unable to reach voters with their policies and message due to controversy over the agreement to preference One Nation above their partners, the Nationals.
Mr Barnett partly conceded it had adversely affected his campaign but only because of the media attention.
"Maybe two to three people at the most have actually come up to me and asked about One Nation. Thousands more have talked about legitimate issues: transport, the health system, will independent public schools survive and other issues affecting people."
His strongest comments were about Labor's costings of its promises released on Thursday, which he described as embarrassing and an insult to West Australians because they were not submitted to Treasury.
Instead they were costed by retired senior public servants Mike Wood and David Gilchrist, who he dismissed as "Labor supporters".
- AAP