Secret Harbour by-election 2026 live: Results, voting, updates and winner

Federal Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has dodged media questions as he made a late appearance at a Secret Harbour polling place.

Mr Hastie stopped by Madora Bay Primary School, spending time chatting to the Greens candidate and Liberal volunteers, he left minutes after The West Australian arrived.

Asked to respond to criticisms he’d been missing in action during the campaign, or that State Liberal Leader Basil Zempilas had thrown him under the bus, he declined to answer.

A staffer wearing an Andrew Hastie cap sought to stand in between Mr Hastie and The West Australian while questions were asked.

Mr Hastie only offered a “no thanks, mate”.

Mr Hastie has been criticised for not campaigning more visibly in a State seat which overlaps with his own Federal electorate.

Earlier in the campaign he criticised the WA Liberals’ Secret Harbour campaign, saying the party was failing to fight for every vote.

Voters have just one hour left to cast their vote at one of the nine polling places across Secret Harbour.

Counting will begin at 6pm once polls have closed.

You can make your vote at any of the below locations.

Resources Minister Madeleine King has insisted she’s still optimistic, despite Labor bracing for a large protest vote in Secret Harbour that could send shockwaves through WA.

The prospect of an historic One Nation win in the once-safe Labor seat has sparked claims Federal seats of Canning, Burt and Ms King’s seat of Brand could be in danger if Pauline Hanson’s momentum continues.

Labor candidate Georgia Tree used to work for Ms King, who insisted the battle to retain the seat is not over yet.

“I would certainly never dare write someone like Georgia Tree off,” she said.

“She’s just a great candidate and has worked so hard”.

Ms King said by-elections are always hard and lessons will be learned, win or lose.

“We will be absolutely fine, I really hope we hold it, but you know we’ll never take anything for granted,” she said.

“It’s the first poll we’ve seen where the dominant parties within it are Labor and One Nation, that’s new for everbody. So I think we’ll learn a lot from this as a Labor party, no matter what the result”.

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One Nation voter Brendan Collins said he had made up his mind before polling day.

“Every election I’ve been to I’ve collected one pamphlet from everybody so no one knows who I’m voting for, not this time. I got the one (One Nation pamphlet), it’s all I need,” he said.

His frustrations with Labor came largely from the Federal Government.

“I’m not happy with both of them, but I mean Cook did a reasonable job but let’s just give us something else to try. Albanese lies about everything yeah, you know, he can’t be trusted,” he said.

Andrew Hastie’s absence from the campaign trail in Secret Harbour has been noted by Labor, as other senior Liberals show up to offer their support to a campaign the Canning MP has criticised.

At a polling booth in Port Kennedy, WA Liberal leader Basil Zempilas directed questions to the party’s state director Simon Morgan.

Mr Morgan said he didn’t know where Mr Hastie was.

“I don’t know, ask him,” he said.

Pressed on whether the senior Federal MP - whose seat overlaps part of Secret Harbour - should have been present, Mr Morgan replied: “Why?”.

Mr Hastie declined to comment.

He previously accused Mr Zempilas of failing to fight for every vote, after the WA Liberal leader said any non-Labor return would be a good result.

“The lesson from the 2021 state election is you don’t wave the white flag,”Mr Hastie told 730. “Voters sense weakness”.

Rita Saffioti arrived at Rockingham Lakes Primary School armed with lollies to re-energise the Labor troops, in lieu of a democracy sausage.

And Ms Saffioti had company, with the retired former local MP Paul Papalia also on hand.

“I like the packaged lollies and he said snakes, and the snakes have gone,” Ms Saffioti said.

“All the snakes were taken, so it means more sherbies for me to eat in the car”.

The Deputy Premier and Treasurer said she’s not worried a Labor defeat in Secret Harbour would be a portent of worse to come, despite One Nation vowing to come after her seat in 2029.

“I don’t feel threatened,” she said.

And she’s still hoping Labor candidate Georgia Tree can withstand any protest vote this weekend.

“The feeling’s pretty good, it’s not too hostile,” she said.

“There may be some changing in votes, there’s no doubt about that. But looking at what’s happening to the right of politics, One Nation has really taken a lot of that Liberal base is what I’m seeing.

“But how it all pans out, we’ll have a look at after 6PM tonight”.

The West’s State political reporter Jessica Page has been out and about since polling opened.

She managed to get a quick video as Premier Roger Cook and Labor candidate Georgia Tree hit the polling booths in Secret Harbour to deliver a last-ditch pitch to voters.

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Liberal candidate Ryan Robertson has revealed the one regret he has from the by-election campaign, wishing he’d spent more time with his wife.

While he felt good with the effort he’d put in, Mr Robertson did pause to thank his wife for taking care of their family.

“I feel really, really content that we have given it our all, probably the only thing I would say on reflection, would be that I probably should have spent more time with my wife,” he said.

“She’s done the hardest job out of all of this, and that’s been at home looking after our three daughters.”