What Happened
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued a direct challenge to his party’s supporters, stating that the Australian Labor Party “owes it to history” to defeat One Nation. The Prime Minister delivered these remarks at the Queensland Labor state conference in Brisbane on Sunday, just hours after the party suffered its first lower-house loss in Western Australia.
The comments followed the conclusion of the Secret Harbour by-election held south of Perth, where One Nation candidate Luke Herdegen defeated incumbent Labor MP Georgia Tree. The result marked a significant shift for the electorate, which had previously been considered part of Labor’s heartland and was held by the party with an 11.5 per cent margin.
The Timeline
The election results were called by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation after 74.5 per cent of the vote had been counted. The final tally showed Herdegen leading the two-candidate preferred count with 57 per cent against Labor’s 43 per cent.
This outcome represented an 18.6 per cent swing away from Labor on the two-candidate preferred count compared to previous results. On first preferences, One Nation received 39.1 per cent of the vote, while Labor recorded 24.4 per cent and the Liberal Party took 17.3 per cent.
The Liberal candidate finished behind both One Nation and Labor on first preferences, receiving 17.3 per cent. The ABC had already described the contest as an important test of whether One Nation’s rising support in eastern states could translate into votes in Western Australia, with the answer appearing to be yes.
Who Said What
Speaking to delegates in Brisbane, Albanese framed Labor’s response around defending multiculturalism and arguing that Labor policies remain the best way to improve the lives of working Australians. He told the conference it “owes it to history” to defeat the party.
The language was unusually strong and immediately sharpened the political contest between Labor and One Nation. Rather than treating the WA result as a local by-election upset, Albanese’s comments indicate Labor is viewing One Nation’s rise as a broader national challenge.
Why This Matters
The Secret Harbour result is particularly uncomfortable for Labor because the seat had been considered safe territory. The outcome gave One Nation its first lower-house seat in Western Australia, delivering a significant blow to Labor.
This creates a difficult question for the party: was Secret Harbour simply a protest vote in a single by-election, or is it evidence of a wider movement away from the major parties? If voters supporting One Nation are motivated by frustration with the cost of living, migration, dissatisfaction with government or distrust of the major parties, attacking One Nation itself may not address the reasons those voters are leaving Labor.
That strategy could energise Labor supporters who strongly oppose Pauline Hanson and her party. However, if voters supporting One Nation are motivated by frustration with the cost of living, migration, dissatisfaction with government or distrust of the major parties, attacking One Nation itself may not address the reasons those voters are leaving Labor.
Political parties often dismiss by-election losses as local results driven by individual circumstances. By telling Labor members they “owe it to history” to defeat One Nation, the Prime Minister elevated the contest into something much larger. That provides credibility, media attention and evidence that its recent polling strength can translate into actual election victories.
But Australian voters will ultimately decide whether that strategy works. The bigger question may be whether voters agree — or whether the major parties first need to understand why One Nation is growing.