Leader of resource-rich Western Australia resigns due to burnout

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets WA Premier Mark McGowan at Kings Park, in Perth city, Australia October 22, 2022. Sharon Smith/Pool via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) -The leader of Western Australia resigned on Monday in a surprise announcement, citing exhaustion, after guiding the resource-rich state through the COVID pandemic.

Premier Mark McGowan, elected in 2017, is a member of Australia's ruling Labor Party, which also holds a large majority in Western Australia. He will also step down from the state parliament this week, he told a news conference.