Community leaves Mark on leader

State Opposition leader Mark McGowan considers himself a lucky man, while admitting he has made some luck of his own.

This year marks 25 years since Mr McGowan joined the local community, 19 of those served as the Member for Rockingham.

Despite his parents and brother still calling his birthplace, New South Wales, home, he describes himself as "100 per cent West Australian".

Coming to the area after being posted as a legal officer to the naval base HMAS Stirling in 1990, there is one thing Mr McGowan has missed since leaving the Royal Australian Navy to embark on a career in politics: the work attire.

"I used to love wearing shorts to work," he says.

"It was great."

Mr McGowan recognises the people, town and environment as his reasons for choosing to start a family in Rockingham.

"My expectation was for a two-year posting," he says.

"And I loved it.

"I met a local girl and started going out with her, and this community was great, so I didn't want to go back."

Away from politics, Mr McGowan devotes himself to that local girl - wife Sarah, a fourth-generation Rockingham local - and their three children, Samuel, Alexander and Amelia.

Family time is often spent with their dog Mitzi, riding along the beachfront and, in summer, swimming in the ocean.

Representing people in a legal capacity and an interest in public affairs contributed to Mr McGowan's desire to become elected and do something positive with his life.

"I had a lot of support from Kim Beazley, the Federal MP here," he says.

"I worked extremely hard on every local issue I could possibly find and helping people as much as I could."

Despite this, Mr McGowan feels he instead owes Rockingham.

"The community has been wonderful to me and I am very grateful," he says.

"Rockingham has given more to me than I could ever repay."

Mr McGowan envisions Labor's future as heading "hopefully, into government".

"My view of Labor is that it should be modern, contemporary and retaining of (its historic) values, but embracing new ideas," he says.

"(Unions) provide us with a source of our base … that is always one in which I'm the leader, and myself and my cabinet colleagues will make the decisions."

For this future to become reality, he will be hoping to continue making some of that luck.