Cook points to migration amid Secret Harbour fallout as WA’s newest MP greeted by parliament ‘bro-test’

September 8, 2026 — 4:29pmThe fallout from the Secret Harbour byelection continues to grip West Australian politics, with Premier Roger Cook blaming One Nation’s historic win on the online immigration debate, not his government’s performance.Much of the political discourse of the first day back of parliament on Tuesday revolved around new Secret Harbour MP Luke Herdegen’s win, with Herdegen also greeted with a “bro-test” workout protest on the front steps of Parliament House over remarks he made about domestic violence during the campaign.Incoming One Nation MP watching a protest against him on his first visit to Parliament House.Hamish HastieSpeaking that morning at a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia breakfast filled with representatives from businesses including the Commonwealth Bank, Woodside and WA’s major universities, Cook made his strongest comments yet about the byelection result, linking it to online debate around migration.“The issue wasn’t about how well the schools are funding. The issue wasn’t about issues to do with, or overwhelmingly, issues to do with the performance of the state government,” he said.“The sort of language which was driven through all the social media platforms and the hatred that was generated during that campaign was around immigration.”Cook tempered his comments slightly in a press conference after the breakfast, and insisted he was not “passing the buck”.“State government’s performance was part of it,” he said.“We’ve listened, we understand that there are concerns in the community, and we’re going to respond to it.“Now we undertake a deep and careful review of the outcome of that byelection, and we learn from it.”Cook said WA was desperate for skilled labour, which could not be met by interstate migration, but that his federal counterparts needed to be given a break as they pushed to reduce immigration.“This anti-immigration debate is taking hold right across the country through an unregulated social media landscape, which is driving hatred in our community, hatred and intolerance,” he said.“I acknowledge the fact that the government is reflecting on lower migration.“They are being impacted by this debate like every other government in the country is, and you see it consuming mainstream political parties who are all starting to pivot to this new populist position.“But we, as a society, have to stand up against this, because as we all in this room know, we need skilled migrants, we need population growth, and we need the workforce to drive the economy.”One Nation WA leader Rod Caddies rejected Cook’s assessment of the byelection result and the accusation his party was fuelling hatred around the immigration debate.“People were upset with the government’s decision-making on the amount of people they are letting into this country,” Caddies said.“It’s not about migrants; it’s about the numbers of migrants, and we’ve said that over and over. So there’s no fuelling any hatred towards migrants or any anybody.“They claim they’re bringing in skilled workers, but when you look at these skills, some of the skills are definitely not the skills that people like that need to build houses.”The ‘Bro-test’Despite his first day in the chamber not due until next week, or possibly even October, Herdegen’s first taste of WA parliament included a protest organised just for him.The “bro-test”, organised by Perth influencer Megan McLeod (known as ‘@leftonmeg’) and Greens staffer Eve Gindein, was attended by about 25 women who completed a workout on the front steps of parliament to protest “gym bro” Herdegen’s comments around domestic violence during the campaign.In particular, the group took aim at Herdegen’s comments during an interview with the ABC’s 7.30 program that his federal leader Pauline Hanson’s comments about domestic violence being a “two-way street” was not coming up as an issue in Secret Harbour.McLeod said the Mandurah police district, which covered the Secret Harbour electorate, had one of the highest rates of family violence in Perth, with 3924 offences in 2024-25.“We’re tired. He didn’t get pulled up on it. They never do,” she said.“We’re just sick of seeing these public figures in these important positions saying things that are so harmful and minimising such a serious issue in our country.”Herdegen watched on while wearing a shirt with the slogan “protect women’s rights”, which he told media was about “keeping men out of women’s spaces”.Pressed whether he was referring to trans women, he replied: “It includes all men.”Herdegen rejected the accusation that he said domestic violence wasn’t an issue.“I never said that domestic violence was an issue in the election. What I was what I was referring to was that people weren’t talking about Pauline Hanson’s comments,” he said.“I think domestic violence certainly is a problem statewide and nationwide, and that is on both sides. Like I said before, both sexes.“I think all men and all strong men should protect women in our community.”Caddies went further and said that women were disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence, revealing his parents split when he was four years old because of domestic violence his mother experienced.“Definitely ... violence against women is far higher percentage. This isn’t an argument about who the domestic violence is against,” he said.However, he defended Hanson’s comments around the issue being “a two-way street”.“It is a two-way street. It’s still that wording, whether you use that or not, it happens both ways. It’s saying it’s happening two-way street,” he said.“You could have 1000 cars going down one street when you’re talking about, and only 10 going the other way. It’s still a two-way street, so it’s the language again.“I still believe predominantly women are abused at a much higher rate than men, especially when it comes to physical violence, so that’s clear.“But whether you worry about that language of two-way street, that’s just pedantic.”Greens MP and women and children’s safety spokeswoman Jess Beckerling criticised Herdegen’s deflection to trans issues.“We don’t want you deflecting to trans women. We don’t want you to deflect to transphobia,” she said.“It’s unhelpful. It’s not taking this country forward.“As a woman, I have never been afraid of a trans person.“What I’m afraid of is our government’s failing to deal with the crisis of family and domestic violence. That’s where the real threat lies here.”Hamish Hastie is WAtoday's state political reporter and the winner of five WA Media Awards, including the 2023 Beck Prize for best political journalism.Connect via X or email.From our partners