Early voting in the Secret Harbour by-election is underway following the July exit of Labor MP Paul Papalia. A record field of 16 candidates has officially joined the ballot for the Western Australian state seat, marking the largest candidate lineup in state by election history. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled voters, with final polls closing on Saturday, August 29. This page provides candidate breakdowns, key numbers from 2025, voting locations, and live coverage as results come in.
SECRET HARBOUR BY-ELECTION
Saturday 29 August 2026
Very Safe Labor 11.5%
16 candidates
EARLY VOTING OPEN
Held by
Vacant. Labor's Paul Papalia held the seat and its predecessors from 2007 and resigned in July 2026.
Election day
Saturday 29 August, with booths open from 8am to 6pm.
The electorate
Coastal outer suburban seat of 77 square kilometres between Rockingham and Mandurah, with Port Kennedy and Warnbro each split between this district and a neighbouring one.
Local government
Split across two councils, the City of Rockingham in the north and the City of Mandurah in the south.
History
Created in the 2023 redistribution out of the abolished Labor stronghold of Warnbro, and first contested in 2025.
Federal overlay
Splits across two federal seats, 72% in Canning, held by Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, and 28% in Brand.
Early voting is open now at Port Kennedy and in the Perth CBD
You don't need a reason to vote early in Western Australia, so any enrolled elector in the district can walk into either centre and cast a vote in person before polling day. The roll closed at 6pm on Tuesday 21 July, so enrolment for this by-election is already shut.
| Where | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Sunlight Drive, Port Kennedy | 17 to 22 August, then 24 to 28 August | 8am to 6pm |
| WA Electoral Commission, Level 2, 66 St Georges Terrace, Perth | 17 to 21 August, then 24 to 28 August | 8:30am to 4:30pm |
Neither centre opens on Sunday 23 August, postal vote applications close at 6pm on Wednesday 26 August, and completed postal votes must reach the Commission by 9am on Thursday 3 September, with mobile polling for aged care and similar facilities having begun on Sunday 16 August. The Commission had issued 5,756 postal votes by 13 August, against 3,843 for the whole of the 2025 election. Source: WA Electoral Commission.
Turnout so farAs at 4.15pm, Monday 17 August 2026
6,164
Postal votes issued
3,158
Postal votes returned
1,155
Early votes cast in person
The Commission had issued 3,843 postal votes for the whole of the 2025 election, so postal demand is already running well ahead of it. Early voting attendance covers both the Port Kennedy centre and the Commission's Perth office. Figures supplied by the WA Electoral Commission and updated daily.
Who is Running in Secret Harbour
Liberal candidate Ryan Robertson secured the top spot on the ballot following the Western Australian Electoral Commission random draw on July 21. Below is the official ballot order for all 16 candidates contesting the seat. Candidate photos will be updated as they are verified.
- Top Ballot Position: Ryan Robertson (Liberal)
- Official Draw Date: July 21
- Total Candidates: 16
Robertson is a City of Rockingham councillor for the Rockingham and Safety Bay ward, elected in 2025. He spent 12 years in the Royal Australian Navy between 2009 and 2021, most of that time as a submariner, and was named Submariner of the Year during his service, and he now works in real estate while hosting his own podcast. At 35 he's among the younger candidates in the field, and he drew the top position on the ballot paper in the Commission's random draw on 21 July.
Barton is 41, a retired Royal Australian Navy veteran, a member of a local gun club and the owner of two dogs, and the Libertarian Party announced him as its Secret Harbour candidate on 20 July, saying he was stepping up to keep serving his community. His campaign is built on holding the government to account over what he calls reckless spending and rising fees and taxes, and he drew second position on the ballot paper in the Commission's random draw.
Davies is a Secret Harbour local, a defence spouse and a mother of three teenagers who joined the Greens in the lead up to the 2025 state and federal elections. She works in personal fitness and as a community organiser, and her campaign is built on capping rents, cheaper and cleaner energy and building more local housing, with her opposition to the AUKUS submarine deal tied to her own family's defence connection.
Buchanan served two terms as a City of Rockingham councillor before resigning in April 2026, saying he'd lost confidence in the council's administration. He holds a PhD in English literature from the University of Western Australia and works as a research officer and senior adviser to Legalise Cannabis MLC Brian Walker. Diagnosed with bowel cancer two years ago, he credits medicinal cannabis with giving him freedom of choice in his treatment, and he's campaigning on cannabis law reform including the driving laws that affect medicinal patients.
Hamilton is standing for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, having grown up in Port Hedland in the Pilbara before settling in the Rockingham area, and supporters promoting his campaign have made a point of saying he lives inside the electorate. We're confirming his work background and campaign priorities from a primary source.
Tree grew up in Warnbro in a single income household and was raised by her father after her mother died of cancer when she was nine. She joined Labor in 2013 and spent nine years working for federal Labor MP Madeleine King before moving into a government relations role at Woodside Energy, and Premier Roger Cook announced her as Labor's candidate. She lives outside the district she's contesting, which has become a live issue in this campaign.
Howard leads the Australian Patriots Party, which lists him as its leader and has around 21,000 followers, though he stands here as an independent, and he's a sixth generation Western Australian who describes himself as conservative and nationalist. Campaign material promoting him states plainly that he neither lives in the electorate nor has served on the local council, and his priorities run to accountability, transparency, Australian ownership and free speech, with the Karnup train station, housing supply and community policing his local pushes.
Burdett is the only person on this ballot paper who also contested Secret Harbour at the 2025 election, when he stood for Australian Christians and polled 2.7%, or 755 votes, and he's standing for the same party again. We're confirming the rest of his background from a primary source.
Jensen joined the Animal Justice Party in 2017 and is now deputy convenor of its Western Australian branch, having contested Joondalup at the 2025 state election. His party profile lists a working background across advocacy, policing, research, education, information technology and business, and he's campaigning for stronger animal protection laws and an independent animal welfare regulator, alongside housing, health and energy costs.
Van Lieshout is a former teacher who has stood repeatedly at state and federal elections around the country. She was arrested in 2021 over an order of 470 fake police badges, and in 2023 a court convicted her of impersonating a Commonwealth public official, imposing a fine and a sentence covering time she had already served.
Gullan stood for Legalise Cannabis at the 2025 state election in Collie Preston and was the party's candidate for the federal seat of Canning later that year, until it disendorsed him during that campaign, saying it had found what it described as a trail of antisemitic rants, an allegation Gullan disputes and a characterisation he rejects. He's contesting Secret Harbour as an independent.
Fels sat in the Legislative Council for the Agricultural Region from 2005, elected as a Liberal, then moved to Family First in 2008 before losing his seat in 2009. He has stood for office repeatedly since under several party banners, among them Katter's Australian Party and the United Australia Party, and he's now WA First's candidate. His stated priorities are upgrading the Kwinana Freeway and finishing the Karnup train station.
Palmer has lived in the electorate for 29 years and is based in Port Kennedy, where she has taught high school mathematics for the past seven years after a career in finance as a certified practising accountant and finance manager, and her campaign centres on the Nambeelup odour that residents across Secret Harbour, Port Kennedy, Singleton, Golden Bay, Lakelands and Madora Bay have complained about for a decade. She's running a petition on it and wants the evidence put to the Environment Minister.
Herdegen is a 39 year old Rockingham business owner who runs several Anytime Fitness franchises across Perth's southern suburbs, including one that serves Secret Harbour. Having grown up in Newcastle in New South Wales, he moved to the City of Rockingham in 2023, and the former national weightlifting champion was selected by One Nation from a field of 88 applicants, with state leader Rod Caddies saying the party would be favourites to win the seat.
Dunne is a Perth based business owner who has run Greenhammer Enterprises since 1986 and studied at the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University. His own profile lists him under the banner of a Socialist Labour League Mark II, which he notes is still awaiting permission, and he's contesting Secret Harbour as an independent.
Murrell, who goes by Boh, campaigns under the banner of the Sovereign Australia Party and its slogan of truth, integrity, accountability and transparency, though he appears on the ballot paper as an independent, and he studied at Monash University. He runs several advocacy websites, among them one devoted to multimodal transport corridors, and he had been campaigning in the seat for 57 days by the time early voting opened.
Why Secret Harbour is a Key Battleground: The 2025 Context
Labor retained Secret Harbour in 2025, but the underlying numbers tell a far more volatile story. Despite securing the win, outgoing MP Paul Papalia suffered a massive 28.5 percentage point drop in his primary vote. At the same time, One Nation surged to record its eighth highest primary vote in the state, signaling a major shift in outer suburban voter sentiment.
Paul Papalia (ALP)46.5% -28.5
12,876 votes
Mark Jones (LIB)25.0% +9.7
6,913 votes
Tamsyn Heynes (GRN)8.8% +5.3
2,439 votes
Liam Hall (ONP)8.4% +6.3
2,332 votes
Jim Matters (LCW)5.9% +5.5
1,623 votes
Robert Burdett (ACP)2.7% +2.7
755 votes
Elizabeth Storer (AJP)2.6% +2.6
723 votes
Two candidate preferred
Papalia (ALP)Jones (LIB)
A swing of 19.8% away from Labor. Formal votes 27,661, informal 4.6%, turnout 84.5%. Source: WA Electoral Commission.
| How the vote was cast | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Election day booths | 10,612 | 36.6% |
| Early voting centre | 8,042 | 27.7% |
| Absent votes | 6,629 | 22.9% |
| Postal votes | 3,121 | 10.8% |
| Provisional votes | 475 | 1.6% |
| Mobile polling | 105 | 0.4% |
| Total | 28,984 | 100% |
Counted from the Commission's 2025 polling place returns for Secret Harbour. Just over 63% of the vote was cast somewhere other than an election day booth, which is why the count on 29 August will lean so heavily on early, postal and absent votes. Source: WA Electoral Commission.
| 2025 polling place | Labor | One Nation |
|---|---|---|
| Rockingham Lakes Primary | 50.5% | 9.0% |
| Secret Harbour Early Polling | 49.9% | 7.5% |
| Comet Bay College | 48.4% | 6.6% |
| Postal votes | 47.9% | 8.2% |
| Secret Harbour Primary | 47.6% | 7.3% |
| Golden Bay Primary | 47.0% | 7.1% |
| Port Kennedy Primary | 46.5% | 8.6% |
| Singleton Primary | 44.0% | 9.2% |
| Madora Bay Community Hall | 43.6% | 7.3% |
| Provisional votes | 43.6% | 9.0% |
| Coastal Lakes College | 43.3% | 7.8% |
| Absent votes | 42.5% | 10.6% |
First preference share of the formal vote at each polling place in 2025, ordered by Labor's share. One Nation polled strongest on absent votes at 10.6% and at Singleton on 9.2%, and weakest at Comet Bay College on 6.6%. Source: WA Electoral Commission.
Secret Harbour Electorate: Suburbs and Origin Story
Secret Harbour is a coastal outer suburban district located south of Perth between Rockingham and Mandurah. The seat spans key coastal and outer suburban communities:
- Core Suburbs: Secret Harbour, Port Kennedy, Golden Bay, Singleton, Karnup, Lakelands, Warnbro and Madora Bay.
Created during the 2023 boundary redistribution to replace the abolished Labor stronghold of Warnbro, Secret Harbour has only been contested once at a general election.
Former Police Minister Paul Papalia represented Warnbro from 2007 until its dissolution, serving in key cabinet roles under both Mark McGowan and Roger Cook. Papalia transitioned to Secret Harbour in 2025 before stepping down in July due to a family medical issue.
How to fill in your ballot paper so the vote actually counts
Your ballot paper
1
2
3
Keep going to 16.
Western Australia's Legislative Assembly uses full preferential voting, so you number every square from 1 to 16 in the order you want the candidates elected. A single tick, or any square left blank, makes the vote informal and it gets thrown out, and at the 2025 election 4.6% of votes here were informal.
Political Stakes: What Secret Harbour Means for Every Party
- Labor: Premier Roger Cook faces a crucial test in defending a seat held since 2007. With candidate Georgia Tree replacing high-profile minister Paul Papalia, Labor must prove it can retain outer suburban voters despite cost of living pressures.
- The Liberals: Led by Basil Zempilas, the WA Liberals aim to demonstrate momentum following their 2025 recovery. Candidate Ryan Robertson holds the top spot on the ballot paper. By preferencing One Nation above Labor, the Liberals hope to force a preferential flow that shrinks Labor's margin.
- One Nation: Party leader Rod Caddies views Secret Harbour as prime territory. Following a strong 2025 performance, candidate Luke Herdegen aims to capitalize on primary vote erosion from major parties and position One Nation as a primary contender.
- National Impact: Encompassing much of federal Liberal MP Andrew Hastie's seat of Canning, this contest is a barometer for working class and outer suburban sentiment across Australia.
Live results on Saturday 29 August
Live results
Counting starts when booths close at 6pm on Saturday 29 August, and this panel will carry it as it comes in: the share counted, first preferences by candidate, the two candidate preferred, and results booth by booth. The Commission has confirmed that anything published on the night is indicative only and that the declared result follows the full distribution of preferences, which cannot be completed until after the 9am postal vote deadline on Thursday 3 September, and it expects counting to take longer than usual given the 16 candidates on the ballot paper.
Our Secret Harbour coverage
- Our voter guide, including One Nation's registered how to vote card.
- Rod Caddies picks Herdegen as One Nation's candidate for the seat.
- The WA Liberals preference One Nation above Labor.
- Roger Cook's $9 million TAFE announcement in the electorate.
- Georgia Tree on the NRL and her party's handling of harassment complaints.
- WA Labor's Medicare claims about One Nation, fact checked.
