Far-right party wins closely watched vote in Western Australia

James Mayger and Tracy Withers, Bloomberg News on Aug 29, 2026

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The far-right One Nation party has secured its first lower-house seat in the state parliament of Western Australia, defeating the ruling Labor Party to win a special election.

The election was watched as an indicator of One Nation’s strength after the party surged in the polls over the past year. With 75% of votes counted, One Nation’s Luke Herdegen held 57% while the candidate for the ruling Labor Party took 43%, according to the state electoral commission late Saturday in state capital Perth. Broadcaster ABC called the byelection for Herdegen.

In the 2025 election in the area south of Perth, longtime Labor Party lawmaker Paul Papalia won the seat with almost 47% of the primary vote, with One Nation trailing at slightly more than 8%. Papalia announced in July that he would retire as a family member was ill, forcing the special election.

Labor holds an overwhelming majority in the state parliament so the election won’t affect its ability to govern, but it will be seen as a sign that One Nation has been able to capitalize on its surge in the polls over the last year and translate that into election wins.

The party secured its best result in the March state election in South Australia and won its first federal lower-house seat in May.

“There are no safe Labor seats in this state or in this country any more,” Herdegen told celebrating supporters, in comments broadcast by ABC. “None of these MPs are safe from the orange tsunami.”

One Nation’s next opportunity will be the Victoria state election in November, where the incumbent Labor government looks set to voted out after a dozen years in power.