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2025 Western Australian state election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2025 Western Australian state election was held on 8 March 2025 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, where all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 37 seats in the Legislative Council were up for election.
The Labor government, led by Premier Roger Cook, won a third consecutive four-year term in a landslide, becoming the first party to win a third term in Western Australia since 1989.[3] Labor were challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Libby Mettam and by the National Party, led by Opposition Leader Shane Love.
This was Labor's third consecutive landslide victory since winning government in 2017 and Labor's second best result after the previous 2021 state election. Labor won 46 seats in the lower house, a decrease of seven seats from their 2021 result. The Liberal Party won 7 seats while the National Party won 6, ensuring that the Liberals returned to official opposition status in the parliament.[4] Labor's primary vote fell by over 18 points to 41.4%, while the Liberal vote increased by more than six and a half percent to 28% and the National vote was 5.2% (up 1.2%).
In the Legislative Council, Labor won 16 seats, the Liberals 10 and Nationals 2; while minor party the Greens won 4 seats. Other minor parties that earned representation in the Council include One Nation, who won 2 seats, as well as Legalise Cannabis, Australian Christians and the Animal Justice Party, who each claimed 1 seat.[5]
Candidates were elected in single-member seats in the Legislative Assembly via full-preferential instant-runoff voting. In the Legislative Council, 37 candidates were elected using single transferable voting across the state, which functioned as a single electorate. Amendments made to electoral law had increased the size of the Legislative Council by one member at this election and also had abolished the former system of six regions of unequal population that each elected six members using single transferable voting.
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Background
The 2021 state election saw Labor win one of the most comprehensive victories on record at the state or territory level in Australia. It won 53 of the 59 seats, surpassing its own record set four years earlier for the largest government majority and seat tally in Western Australian parliamentary history.[6][7]
In May 2023, McGowan resigned the premiership, saying he was "exhausted".[8]
Since the 2021 election, there have been two by-elections. North West Central elected a new member upon the resignation of Vince Catania.[9] Rockingham also elected a new member after former premier Mark McGowan retired from politics. Labor retained this seat with their candidate Magenta Marshall.[10] Merome Beard, the winner of the North West Central by-election defected from the National Party to the Liberal Party in October 2023 and stood as the Liberal Party's candidate in this election.[11]
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Registered parties
The following parties are registered with the Western Australian Electoral Commission:[12]
- Sustainable Australia Party – Anti-corruption
- Animal Justice Party
- Australian Christians
- Greens Western Australia
- Labor Party
- Legalise Cannabis Western Australia Party
- Liberal Party
- National Party of Australia
- Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party
- Libertarian Party
- One Nation
- Stop Pedophiles! Protect kiddies!
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Electoral system
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Candidates are elected to single-member seats in the Legislative Assembly via full-preferential instant-runoff voting. In the Legislative Council, 37 candidates are elected across the state, which functions as a single electorate. They are to be elected using single transferable voting.
Legislative Council voting changes
In September 2021, the McGowan Labor Government introduced the "one vote, one value" legislation to change the voting system for the Legislative Council at this election. Under the then-existing voting system for the upper house, which had been in place since 2005, voters were divided into six regions of unequal weight, each of whom were responsible for electing six candidates (36 in total). Three of the regions were based in metropolitan Perth, and three in the regions. This meant that the Mining and Pastoral region had as many voters as only 16% of the number of electors in the three metropolitan regions on average.[13][14] The government first proposed abolishing the regions and replacing them with what it called a "one vote, one value" system.
Instead, 37 members were elected from a single statewide constituency using single transferable voting (STV). This increased the size of the council by one seat. Group voting tickets (GVTs) were abolished. GVTs were abolished for the federal Senate in 2016 and, at the time of this election, were only used for the Victorian Legislative Council.[15] Votes were cast under a semi-optional preferential form of STV using above-the-line voting. It required electors to vote for one or more preferred parties above the dividing line on the ballot paper, or at least 20 candidates below the dividing line. The legislation passed the parliament on 17 November 2021 and received royal assent seven days thereafter.[16][17]
The election of 37 members for the Legislative Council constitutes the largest district magnitude seen in STV any time in history.
Redistribution
Electoral districts of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the 2021 state election
Electoral districts of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the 2025 state election
The Western Australian Electoral Commission conducted a redistribution of the boundaries of all 59 electoral districts. The final boundaries for the electoral districts were released on 1 December 2023.[18]
The seats of Moore and North West Central were merged to create a new seat, Mid-West.[18] The merger of two rural seats into one was matched by the creation of a new seat in Perth, Oakford, which covers growing suburbs between Armadale and the Kwinana Freeway.[18]
According to psephologist Antony Green, the Coalition will need a combined swing of 23.4% to gain the 24 seats needed to form a majority government.[18]
On the new boundaries, there are 17 seats with margins under 15%, which will be regarded as "key seats". (Green described these as "marginal seats" due to the extent of Labor's landslide in 2021, as normally a margin of over 15% would be considered a safe seat.)
Changes to electorates of the Legislative Assembly
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Key dates
Elections are scheduled for the second Saturday of March every four years, in line with legislative changes made in 2011.[19]
While the Legislative Assembly has fixed four-year terms, the Governor of Western Australia may still dissolve the Assembly and call an election early on the advice of the Premier.[20]
Key dates of this election were:
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Retiring MPs
Labor
- Lisa Baker MLA (Maylands) – announced 5 March 2024[22]
- Sue Ellery MLC (South Metropolitan) – announced 29 July 2022[23]
- Matthew Hughes MLA (Kalamunda) – announced 9 February 2024[24]
- Bill Johnston MLA (Cannington) – announced 30 November 2023[25]
- Kyle McGinn MLC (Mining and Pastoral) – announced 7 July 2024[26]
- Simon Millman MLA (Mount Lawley) – announced 8 April 2024[27]
- Martin Pritchard MLC (North Metropolitan) – announced 16 May 2024[28]
- John Quigley MLA (Butler) – announced 19 February 2024[29]
- Margaret Quirk MLA (Landsdale) – announced 2 April 2024[30][31]
- Michelle Roberts MLA (Midland) – announced 16 October 2024[32]
- Jessica Shaw MLA (Swan Hills) – announced 3 June 2024[33]
- Sally Talbot MLC (South West) – announced 5 July 2024[34]
- Chris Tallentire MLA (Thornlie) – announced 26 February 2024[35]
- David Templeman MLA (Mandurah) – announced 17 September 2024[36]
- Peter Tinley MLA (Willagee) – announced 14 March 2024[37]
- Darren West MLC (Agricultural) – announced 8 June 2024[38]
Liberal
- Peter Collier MLC (North Metropolitan) – did not nominate for endorsement[39]
- Donna Faragher MLC (East Metropolitan) – announced 10 January 2024[40][41]
- David Honey MLA (Cottesloe) – lost preselection 10 February 2024[42]
National
- Martin Aldridge MLC (Agricultural) – announced 16 April 2024[43]
- Mia Davies MLA (Central Wheatbelt) – announced 27 January 2023[44]
- Colin de Grussa MLC (Agricultural) – announced 8 June 2024[45]
Independent
- Wilson Tucker MLC (Mining and Pastoral) – announced 12 February 2025[46]
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Candidates
Results
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The election was called for the incumbent Labor government just after 7:40pm Australian Western Standard Time (AWST).[47]
Legislative Assembly
Labor
Liberal
National
Legislative Council
Seats changing hands
Members in italics did not recontest their seats.
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Electoral pendulums
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Pre-election pendulum
This is a pre-election pendulum, taking into account the 2023 boundary redistribution. Estimated margins are calculated by Antony Green for the Western Australian Parliamentary Library.[48] Retiring members are shown in italics.
| Non-government seats | |||
| Fairly safe | |||
| Mid-West | Shane Love | NAT | 8.6 |
| Central Wheatbelt | Mia Davies | NAT | 9.3 |
| Safe | |||
| Roe | Peter Rundle | NAT | 12.2 |
| Crossbench seats | |||
| Vasse | Libby Mettam | LIB | 4.3 |
| Cottesloe | David Honey | LIB | 7.4 |
Post-election pendulum
| Non-government seats | |||
| Marginal | |||
| Kalamunda | Adam Hort | LIB | 0.1 |
| Churchlands | Basil Zempilas | LIB | 1.1 |
| Murray-Wellington | David Bolt | LIB | 1.7 |
| Nedlands | Jonathan Huston | LIB | 2.7 |
| Cottesloe | Sandra Brewer | LIB | 5.6 v IND |
| Fairly safe | |||
| Carine | Liam Staltari | LIB | 7.6 |
| Safe | |||
| Vasse | Libby Mettam | LIB | 13.4 |
| Crossbench seats | |||
| Warren-Blackwood | Bevan Eatts | NAT | 1.8 |
| Albany | Scott Leary | NAT | 6.3 |
| Mid-West | Shane Love | NAT | 13.7 v LIB |
| Geraldton | Kirrilee Warr | NAT | 14.1 |
| Central Wheatbelt | Lachlan Hunter | NAT | 23.3 |
| Roe | Peter Rundle | NAT | 25.1 v LIB |
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Opinion polling
Voting intention
Preferred Premier
Satisfaction ratings
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Notes
- In late October 2023, Merome Beard, National MP for the rural electorate of North West Central, defected to the Liberal Party.[1][2]
References
Further reading
External links
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