Secret Harbour should be seen as a rallying cry for everyone who feels ignored

The safe seat of Secret Harbour was WA Labor’s to lose in the by-election this weekend, and they deserved to lose it.

By offering up a candidate who lives 60 kilometres outside the electorate and currently lobbies for Woodside, WA Labor showed an extraordinary level of arrogance, as well as disdain for the local community.

As the dominant half of the “two major parties”, Labor appears to have become so utterly disconnected from ordinary working people that they haven’t noticed that life is increasingly tough and more people than ever feel like they’re being let down by the old parliamentary duopoly.

We feel let down because we have been let down: another lane on the Kwinana Freeway won’t fix the problems of an electorate that’s been long ignored.

Time and time again, we see how the top end of town is prioritised by Labor over everyday folks. If you can pay, you can play – and by play I mean, directly influence legislation that will ensure the multinational corporation you represent, thrives.

Just last week reporting showed corporate donations to Labor totalled over $1.6 million during the previous three months alone – and this didn’t include the $100,000 fundraising dinner the prime minister attended on Mosman Park’s “Millionaires Row” featuring the chairman of the region’s largest data centre provider, plus senior gas lobbyists, and mining representatives.

The Secret Harbour byelection – triggered by the departure of Labor MP Paul Papalia – has been positioned as a litmus test of how suburban Australians are evaluating the performance of a state, and federal government, completely dominated by Labor.

Having spent time in Secret Harbour every week during the campaign chatting to locals, it is a surprise to me that a by-election was required to perform this test. People are palpably pissed off, and they want change.

And now they have it with WA’s first lower house One Nation representative. What One Nation voters want, exactly, is unclear – no one I spoke with articulated any specific policies (including One Nation’s own MPs, as evidenced in Farrar last week).

And while many One Nation voters are described as “anti-establishment”, Pauline Hanson has been a part of the political establishment for all of my adult life.

We’ve also watched the organisations who once bankrolled the Liberal and National parties – including Australia’s wealthiest billionaire – now backing One Nation, which also gives “establishment” vibes.

But here we are. The One Nation style of politics works when there is a broad feeling of discontent, and Labor are fuelling the feeling of discontent by ignoring the needs of ordinary working Australians.

Over the past year, we’ve seen support across the nation for a tax on gas exports, a full ban on gambling advertising, more public housing, and a proper look under the hood of the AUKUS agreement – while at the same time, we watch the government shy away for these policies in favour of the wishes of corporate lobby groups.

With this in mind, Labor selecting a gas lobbyist as their Secret Harbour candidate makes perfect sense. It also makes a mockery of the idea that MPs are engaged to work for the people of their electorate. It’s no wonder voters were repelled.

When you feel ignored, you look for attention elsewhere. If an elected representative isn’t going to work for you, it’s a good idea to vote for someone else who will. After all, we pay their wages.

Time will tell if the new Secret Harbour representative will work day in and day out for his community – or if he will work for the top end of town funding One Nation.

Lucky for us, we live in a democracy where we are compelled to give our MPs a performance appraisal at the ballot box every four years.

When Secret Harbour was called for One Nation, their candidate said, “There are no safe Labor seats in this country any more” – something I said myself after my community-backed independent campaign almost unseated a senior Labor minister in 2025.

Secret Harbour should be seen as a rallying cry for everyone who feels ignored, and seeks change. I’m talking about all those people who seek change that is positive, constructive and collaborative, not focused on grievance but on a thriving, healthy future for all.

The time is now to seek passionate, like-minded people in your community to support strong representatives, independent of corporate interests, that reflect you, your neighbours, and your hopes for our country.

If we can do this, Labor’s loss in Secret Harbour could be a win for us all.