Far-right party wins closely watched western Australia vote
The election has been considered an indicator of One Nation's strength after the party surged in the polls over the past year.
Australian Senator and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson reacts to a question from a journalist following her address at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on June 17. | REUTERS
BLOOMBERG
Aug 30, 2026
Australia’s 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 Labor candidate had 43%, according to the state electoral commission late Saturday in state capital Perth. Broadcaster ABC called the by-election for Herdegen.
In last year’s election in the area south of Perth, longtime Labor 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.
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