A storm is brewing south of Perth, and it ain’t the weather

August 28, 2026 — 12:43pm

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Many voters who visited the early polling booth in Port Kennedy, 47 kilometres south of Perth, on Thursday were forced to drive through two massive puddles in the car park – evidence of the heavy rain the suburb experienced the day before.

But it’s not the weather that has made this Secret Harbour byelection one of the most intriguing in Western Australia’s recent history – it’s the political storm that has engulfed the sleepy coastal electorate.

The surge of One Nation in successive polls this year, and the party’s lower house success in the South Australian election earlier this year, has turned Secret Harbour into a genuine three-way contest between Pauline Hanson’s party, Labor and the Liberals.

As an outer suburban seat where One Nation is hoping to pull votes from the major parties, it will also be a litmus test for the 2028 federal election, with politicians including Canning Liberal MP Andrew Hastie and Labor’s federal Resources Minister Madeleine King to watch the result carefully.

Saturday’s byelection was triggered by the resignation of long-serving member and former corrective services minister Paul Papalia in July.

The seat has gone through many boundary and name changes over the years, but one constant is Labor’s grip on the region, which remains working class, aspirational and firmly in Perth’s mortgage belt.

Common gripes from voters include the failure to deliver the promised Karnup train station, cost of living, and housing.

One Nation’s candidate, 39-year-old gym franchise owner Luke Herdegen, says federal Labor’s management of immigration has made housing and cost of living worse, and he’s confident he’ll be the beneficiary of a large........

© WA Today