Hastie warns Liberals ‘fighting for our lives’ ahead of WA contest with One Nation

The Liberal Party is in for the fight of its life against One Nation, frontbencher Andrew Hastie has warned, ahead of a state by-election in Secret Harbour, an area captured by his federal electorate of Canning in Western Australia.

The August 29 by-election, triggered by the resignation of state Labor MP Paul Papalia, sets up One Nation’s first test in Western Australia after Pauline Hanson confirmed in June the party would specifically target the Labor heartland.

The by-election will also prove a major test for the embattled Liberals, which have struggled to stop the bleed of disillusioned, conservative voters to One Nation on both the federal and state level.

It comes after the populist party won its first federal by-election in the formerly blue-ribbon seat of Farrer.

Mr Hastie warned it was “really important” the WA Liberals fought tooth-and-nail to win the votes of Secret Harbour residents.

“We had swings towards us in the state election last year, and I had double-digit swings in the federal election,” he said.

“I even flipped Labor booths – longstanding historical Labor booths – last year.

“So I think there is a strong story for the Liberal Party, but we’ve just got to fight. We’ve got to fight for every single vote.

“Whenever I enter a contest, I want to win, and I think that should be our message in this by-election.”

Asked if the WA Liberals were not fighting hard enough, Mr Hastie referenced comments made by state Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas, who described One Nation’s rise in popularity as an opportunity.

“I don’t accept this idea that a win for One Nation is a win for the Liberal Party,” he said. “We’re fighting for our lives, and we should be fighting for every single vote in Secret Harbour.

“I think we should be fighting to win in every contest we enter or we shouldn’t enter the contest. Voters sense weakness, and they’ll go to the strong horse if you signal weakness.”

Mr Hastie conceded he didn’t “see eye-to-eye on the political strategy” with Mr Zempilas but flagged the state election was a “test for the state leader and the opposition”.

Mr Hastie has frequently been targeted by senior members of One Nation in a campaign described by the ex-SAS soldier as one of “relentless personal attacks”.