Far-right party wins closely watched western Australia vote

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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