Canning is poll 'opening round': Shorten

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has taken aim at the "extreme right-wing" federal government while declaring the Canning by-election on September 19 round one in the fight to oust the Liberals.

Speaking at the West Australian Labor state conference on Saturday, Mr Shorten carefully avoided naming the Liberal candidate running in the by-election, Andrew Hastie, and instead referred to him as "Mr Abbott's candidate" in the belief the prime minister's name will jinx the former SAS captain's campaign.

"A vote for Mr Abbott's Liberal in Canning is a vote for the same again," Mr Shorten told the party faithful.

But he paid tribute to Don Randall, the Liberal MP who held the seat for 15 years before his sudden death last month, aged 62.

Labor candidate Matt Keogh also tipped his hat to Mr Randall, saying he was a representative of the people of Canning first "before being a member of a political party".

"It didn't matter what the issue was - local, state or federal - Don would take it up," Mr Keogh said.

"If successful, I will show that same commitment."

Mr Shorten's speech showed Labor's campaigning is reaching beyond the by-election to the next state and federal polls.

"After two wasted years under this current government, Canning is the scene for the opening round of the great political contest ahead of us," he said.

"More than ever, after two years of the experiment of this extreme right-wing government in Canberra, we need a government that is as ambitious and optimistic as the Australian people."

Following Mr Shorten's challenge to the Liberals on Friday to match a policing pledge in the crime hot spot of Armadale, the opposition leader said on Saturday the Liberals also should match Labor's promise of $170 million to improve roads in the Canning division.

He described the road projects as "a down-payment on a plan for jobs after the mining boom", saying the Abbott government has not done enough to boost employment.