Historic WA seat secured, One Nation’s newest MP has sights on a much bigger prize

Western Australia’s newest MP Luke Herdegen says One Nation has its sights on government at the next state election in three years’ time.Speaking on the ABC this morning after his bruising victory over Labor in Secret Harbour on Saturday, Herdegen said the party would now work on a policy platform with a view to ousting WA’s three-term Labor government.One Nation candidate Luke Herdegen.AAPIMAGE“[One Nation WA leader Rod Caddies] and the state team, they’re working on a lot of policy in the background, and we’re certainly going to push a lot of that out heading into the next election, and we’ll be looking to form a government in 2029,” he said.Given Labor’s overwhelming majority in WA, Herdegen agreed that was a “big call”.“I think people are making smarter decisions now on who they do vote for, and I think we’ve seen the beginning now of a huge shift and I expect that momentum to keep going,” he said.However, Premier Roger Cook, whose party holds a whopping 45 seats in the lower house, said that sort of arrogance was what tripped people up in politics.“Hubris is usually served up with a double helping of humble pie when you go around with that sort of attitude,” he said on Monday.“We’re not taking that attitude. We never have, and we continue to make sure we treat the community and the electorate with respect.”Herdegen recorded a primary vote of 39.1 per cent, securing Secret Harbour by about 3682 votes ahead of Labor’s Georgia Tree.Cook said Labor was dissecting the result, but believed the byelection threw up a range of issues, some within his government’s control and some outside of it.“Those things that we control, we can continue to work to make sure that everyone has a job, that we are investing in health, and that people do have a roof over their head,” he said.During the campaign, One Nation was criticised for its lack of policies, which WA leader Rod Caddies rejected.“One Nation were honest about where we sat. We were telling people we can’t deliver on any financial things at this time,” he said.“This would be about putting someone into parliament that would be a true representative for you and continuing on to the general election; we would have policies that make things better for Western Australians.West Australian One Nation Leader Rod Caddies and Secret Harbour candidate Luke Herdegen after the byelection victory on Saturday.Michael Philipps“That’s honesty. That’s what people want.”Caddies said his party was getting more organised and had sought advice from experts in fields like immigration, economics and housing.“I’ve got a couple of people that are really up there in the housing area, and I’m working with them to work out what policies we can bring to this next state election to make things better for West Australians,” he said.“[The other parties] need to look out, because One Nation are becoming a very professional outfit, and that’s why we want to make sure we do things right.”Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas has again downplayed his party’s dismal result at the Secret Harbour byelection, telling ABC Radio it was a seat the Liberals had never held, and that their preferences helped deliver the historic One Nation win.Liberal candidate Ryan Robertson copped a 7.7 per cent swing away from the Liberals, recording a primary vote of 17 per cent.Zempilas conceded his party wanted to do better, but said it was always going to be a tough seat to win.“We are very, very mindful that this is in a by-election in a seat that we have never held and never done well in. It’s Secret Harbor – Labor heartland,” he said.“But do we want to increase our primary? Of course we do. And is that what we’re working hard to be able to achieve? Yes, it is.”“We played our part in there being a change in the sitting member. Labor have lost it for the first time in living memory, and we’ve unearthed a star. So there are takeaways for us.Liberal leader Basil Zempilas and candidate Ryan Robertson at the polling booths in Secret Harbour on Saturday.Colin Murty“I appreciate people focusing in on us on this Monday, and that’s understood, and I accept that. But this was Secret Harbor; it wasn’t Cottesloe. If we had 17 per cent in a seat like Cottesloe or Churchlands or Vasse ... if it was in one of those seats, absolutely, I would understand it.“But this is a seat that we have never done well in, even in our high-water mark this century, 2013, under Colin Barnett, Labor still won the seat of Secret Harbour on primaries.”Treasurer Rita Saffioti lashed Zempilas’ analysis of the result.“I’ve never seen someone celebrate so much coming third, I think he wants a participation certificate,” she said.“I’ve never seen anything like that.“So coming third is nice, and when my kids come third, I congratulate them.“But coming third as a political party, a major political party, is not great.”Saffioti rejected suggestions from Caddies on the weekend that the knives would be out for Cook after the result in Secret Harbour as “absolutely false”.“Politics and political life is always about continuous improvement,” she said.“It’s never about sitting still. So we’ll keep moving. We’ll keep delivering, and we’ll keep talking to Western Australians.”Cook and Saffioti were back in Perth’s south on Monday, to announce 98 new apartments to be built in Halls Head with support from a $9 million Kickstart Fund loan from the government through Keystart.Spotted Gum Property’s Sutton Apartments development will start construction over the next few months and will include a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments.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