One Nation to Contest By-election in Hasties Electorate

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia on June 17, 2026. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesPauline Hanson’s conservative-leaning One Nation will test its electoral mettle against the Labor-dominated Western Australia in a new by-election.Paul Papalia, the Western Australian (WA) Minister for Corrective Services and member for the seat of Secret Harbour, south of Perth, quit politics on Monday.“This isn’t what I’d planned,” he told reporters.“One of my immediate family members has been diagnosed with a serious illness.”Papalia, a navy veteran who entered politics in 2007, won Secret Harbour for Labor in 2025, polling 61.5 percent of the two-party preferred vote, with a 28.5 percent swing away from the party.One Nation, which polled 8.4 percent of votes in 2025, with a 6.3 percent swing to it, confirmed it will run a candidate.The centre-right Liberals won 28.5 percent of the vote, recording a swing of 9.8 percent to the party.WA One Nation Leader Rod Caddies said Labor has treated Secret Harbour as a safe seat and voters aren’t happy.“They’ve been missing in action, and we’re going to sink Labor in Secret Harbour,” he told AAP.The party has a short list of potential candidates, but no one has been officially nominated to run.“We want to make sure that we don’t leave any stone unturned in getting the very best,” Caddies said.One Nation’s Hanson could also make an appearance on the hustings once the by-election date is announced.“I certainly will be asking her if she can make herself available,” Caddies said.Political commentator Peter Kennedy said Labor will “lose some paint” in the poll but is likely to retain the seat.“The big question for Labor is how much support it will lose,” he told AAP.“It’s got a fair buffer, but things are a bit volatile at the moment, so I think there would be a bit of nervousness all around the traps.”The by-election’s “moment of truth” will be how many votes One Nation gets and how much of the struggling Liberal Party vote it can take.“It’ll be a test for [WA Liberal] Basil Zempilas and his leadership,” he said.“It’s also a big test for One Nation, whether the swing we’ve been seeing to One Nation is reflected in actual votes.”Papalia is the longest-serving MP in WA’s Legislative Assembly and was also Minister for Emergency Services; Defence Industries; Veterans; Racing and Gaming.He was elected to the seat of Peel in 2007, then re-elected to the new seat of Warnbro, which later became Secret Harbour, holding it until he announced his retirement.His last day in Parliament will be July 10.His resignation also means Premier Roger Cook will need to reshuffle his cabinet.By Aaron Bunch in Perth.