MP Johnson 'grumpy' but staying: Barnett

Rogue West Australian Liberal backbencher Rob Johnson is "a bit grumpy" and "disconnected" but won't be expelled from the party, Premier Colin Barnett says.

Mr Johnson has been a vocal critic of the state government since he was dropped as police minister during a cabinet reshuffle in June 2012 and later denied the role of Speaker.

There has been speculation for more than a month that the former minister would be dumped from the Liberal Party.

There were rumblings this week that MLC Phil Edman, the government whip, was securing support to move a motion to expel Mr Johnson at a party room meeting on Tuesday.

No such motion was raised.

But the chatter prompted the premier to urge his colleagues to focus on debating policy and stop leaking confidential information from the party room.

Mr Barnett said on Thursday that he was "a bit disappointed" by some of the things Mr Johnson had done, but noted he had been a good minister with both his and the Richard Court-led government.

"He seems to be a bit grumpy now and a bit disconnected, but that's usually the way in politics," he told Fairfax radio.

"I didn't want to see his colleagues moving against him in that way, so I just hope Rob is a bit more of a team player."

The premier said Mr Johnson, an older member of parliament, was popular in his electorate.

Whether Mr Johnson decided to run again would be something that he and the Liberal party would need to determine later, Mr Barnett said.

"I don't think Rob's in a state of mind to take my advice but some people in the party might listen to me," he said.