Australia’s One Nation party won its first lower-house seat in Western Australia after Luke Herdegen defeated Labor in a Perth-area special election, giving the populist party another electoral breakthrough following its rise in national polling.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Australia’s One Nation party has converted its growing national polling strength into another electoral victory, capturing its first lower-house seat in Western Australia after defeating the governing Labor Party in a special election.
Gym owner Luke Herdegen won the seat for One Nation, ending decades of Labor control in the constituency and giving the party led by Sen. Pauline Hanson a new foothold in Western Australian politics.
An official vote tally confirmed Herdegen’s victory Sunday, according to Reuters.
“Gym owner Luke Herdegen scored One Nation’s first lower house seat in the Western Australia parliament, an official tally showed on Sunday, taking a seat in the state capital Perth that had been held by Labor for decades.
“One Nation, led by Senator Pauline Hanson, overtook Labor in a national opinion poll for the first time in June, a month after winning its first elected seat in the federal House of Representatives.”
The result gives One Nation another significant electoral gain after a year in which the party has climbed sharply in opinion polls and expanded its presence beyond the upper houses and protest-vote politics with which it has long been associated.
The special election was closely watched because it offered an opportunity to determine whether One Nation’s rising national support could translate into an actual constituency victory.
It did.
With 75% of ballots counted Saturday night, Herdegen held 57% of the vote compared with 43% for the Labor candidate, according to figures cited by Bloomberg.
“The election was watched as an indicator of One Nation’s strength after the party surged in the polls over the past year. With 75% of votes counted, One Nation’s Luke Herdegen held 57% while the candidate for the ruling Labor Party took 43%, according to the state electoral commission late Saturday in state capital Perth. Broadcaster ABC called the byelection for Herdegen.
“[…] Labor holds an overwhelming majority in the state parliament so the election won’t affect its ability to govern, but it will be seen as a sign that One Nation has been able to capitalize on its surge in the polls over the last year and translate that into election wins.
“[…] ‘There are no safe Labor seats in this state or in this country any more’, Herdegen told celebrating supporters, in comments broadcast by ABC. ‘None of these MPs are safe from the orange tsunami’.”
The victory will not threaten Labor’s control of the Western Australian government because the party continues to hold a commanding parliamentary majority.
Politically, however, the result provides One Nation with evidence that its improved polling numbers can be converted into victories in seats previously considered secure for Labor.
One Nation has traditionally campaigned on populist and nationalist policies and has positioned itself against many of the political and economic priorities associated with Australia’s major parties and international institutions.
Its critics and numerous mainstream news organizations regularly describe the party as “far-right,” while One Nation and its supporters present it as a populist alternative to the established political parties.
The Western Australian result follows a series of signs that the party’s electoral position has strengthened.
In June, One Nation overtook Labor in a national opinion poll for the first time.
That breakthrough came one month after the party secured its first elected seat in Australia’s federal House of Representatives.
Herdegen’s victory now extends those gains to the lower house of the Western Australian Parliament.
The result is particularly notable because the seat had remained in Labor hands for decades, making the defeat a symbolic setback for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s party even though the state contest does not affect his federal government directly.
Herdegen used his victory speech to argue that traditionally secure Labor constituencies can no longer be taken for granted.
“There are no safe Labor seats in this state or in this country any more,” Herdegen told supporters.
“None of these MPs are safe from the orange tsunami.”
The reference to an “orange tsunami” invokes One Nation’s party color and reflects the confidence of supporters following its continued rise in national polling.
The election also provides a state-level test of a political trend increasingly visible elsewhere, where populist and anti-establishment parties have used dissatisfaction with major-party governments to gain support and convert previously marginal positions into parliamentary representation.
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