Protest vote looms large as Roger Cook concedes losing Secret Harbour would be a heartbreaker

Roger Cook has declared losing Secret Harbour would break his heart as Labor launched a last-ditch bid to claw back support amid a One Nation surge that is threatening to cause a major upset.

The Premier joined Labor candidate Georgia Tree to rally the troops shortly after polls opened at 8am and conceded the Government could lose the previously safe seat only 17 months after a landslide election victory.

“It would break my heart but, you know, we’re in the hands of the people of Secret Harbour today,” Mr Cook said.

“I’m just today immensely proud of the woman that’s standing behind me, I’m immensely proud of the campaign that we’ve run.”

Ms Tree cannot vote for herself because she lives 61km outside the electorate in Perth’s inner-north — as first revealed by The West Australian.

She became emotional greeting Labor’s volunteers at the polling booth, who included her father.

“He’s part of my hype squad. He’s super proud of me, and and he’s been such a great support,” Ms Tree said.

She trumpeted Labor’s plan to start construction on a Karnup train station in 2028 as proof she has “runs on the board” but denied it was evidence of Government inaction over the past decade.

“We’re already building a hospital in Mandurah,” Ms Tree said.

“We’ve made public transport cheaper, so $2.80 fares from here into the city. That’s a palpable, tangible cost of living relief change that WA Labor has implemented.

“I don’t think that it’s fair to say that Labor has left this seat in the lurch, absolutely not.”

The Premier defended Labor’s campaign strategy after criticism of negative social media ads and mailbox material made out to look like One Nation — as well as the silencing of Ms Tree at two press conferences.

Mr Cook said a protest vote is likely because people were doing it tough but he was not ready to concede that voters do not believe his Government is doing enough to ease the cost of living.

“By-elections bring up all kinds of opportunities for a whole range of issues to impact on the seat,” he said.

“Some of it within our control, some of it not within our control ... we know that people are doing it tough and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve talked so much about jobs, health and housing.”

Mr Cook insisted that Labor’s message was largely positive and attacked their rivals.

“WA Labor will always put WA first,” he said.

“Our opponent’s record is also clear. Throughout this campaign we’ve been clear: Basil Zemplins and One Nation are a toxic community that WA can’t afford.

“One Nation has no plans for housing. They have no plans for Secret Harbour. They put that on the record.

“To be clear, they’ve been proud of the fact that they are not presenting a single policy.”

Mr Cook sought to highlight the divide within the Liberal party during a by-election that implications on the national stage, as it overlaps with Federal Liberal Andrew Hastie’s seat of Canning.

“If One Nation gets elected today, I think on most analysis it would be on the back of Liberal Party preferences,” Mr Cook said.

“I think that’s what’s made Andrew Hastie so incredibly angry with Basil Zempilas.

“I think he feels let down that the Liberal Party state leader has essentially working to undermine Andrew Hastie by you know pushing a One Nation candidate.”

Labor is bracing for a large protest vote, with one MP already privately declaring “we’ve lost this” despite a 11.5 per cent winning margin last year.

Ms Tree said the rise of One Nation has made it a different two-horse race in 2026, but she wasn’t giving up.

“I have my eyes completely open to that, and it will be very interesting to see once the counting’s done where that lands,” she said.

“It’s always tough in a by-election, and we’ve seen right-wing populism take place all over the globe and Australia is not immune from that.

“We’ve got a global inflation crisis. People are doing it tough post-COVID, so I’m not surprised that that has taken hold here but I just hope that the conversations I’ve had with community members and the positive agenda that WA Labor is delivering will overcome that surge.”