Senate – Western Australia – Australia 2028

Incumbent Senators

¹Dorinda Cox resigned from the Greens on 2 June 2025 to join the ALP.

• History
• 2025 result
• Preference flows
• Candidates
• Assessment

History
Western Australian Senate races were dominated by the Coalition from 1951 until the beginning of the 1980s. The 1951 election produced a result of four ALP senators, four Liberal senators and two Country Party senators.  The 1953 election saw the ALP win a seat off the Country Party, but the previous result was restored in 1955. The 4-4-2 result was maintained at every election throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The 1970 Senate election saw the Liberal Party lose one of its four seats to independent Syd Negus, who was elected on a platform of abolishing death duties.

The 1974 double dissolution saw Negus defeated and the Country Party lose one of its two seats. The result saw five Labor senators alongside four Liberals and one Country senator. The 1975 double dissolution saw the Coalition regain its majority in Western Australia, with the ALP losing its fifth senate seat to the Liberals. The 1977 election saw the National Country Party lose its senate seat to the Liberals, producing a result of six Liberals and four Labor senators.

The 1983 double dissolution saw the Liberals lose their majority, with five Liberals, four Labor and one Democrat elected. The 1984 election saw Labor gain both new Senate seats while the Democrats lost their seat. In addition to 6 ALP and 5 Liberal, the Nuclear Disarmament Party’s Jo Vallentine was elected. At the 1987 double dissolution, Vallentine was re-elected as an independent along with a Democrat and five each for the two major parties.

The 1990 election saw the Liberals win six seats, along with five Labor and the re-elected Vallentine, who was re-elected as a Green. The Liberals have maintained six WA seats ever since. The 1993 election saw the Greens win a second seat off the ALP. From 1993 until today, WA has been represented by six Liberals, four Labor senators and two minor party Senators from the Greens or Democrats.

In 1996, the Greens lost one of their seats to the Democrats, losing their other seat in 1998. The Democrats held onto their seat in 2001 before losing one of their seats in 2004. The last Democrat was defeated by the Greens candidate in 2007.

The 2010 election was a status quo result. It was the third election in a row which saw three Liberals, two Labor and one Green elected.

The 2013 election produced a bizarre result, where a tiny vote margin between two nonviable candidates decided whether two seats would go to the Palmer United Party and Labor, or the Greens and the Australian Sports Party. A recount reversed the result, but also saw a large batch of ballot papers go missing, forcing a re-election.

At the 2014 re-election, large swings to the Greens and the Palmer United Party saw both parties win one seat each, with the Liberal Party retaining their three seats and Labor limping in with only one seat.

There were two changes at the 2016 double dissolution. Labor recovered their fourth seat, while the Liberal Party dropped from six to five. The Greens maintained their two seats. The Palmer United Party lost their sole seat, with One Nation winning a single seat.

The Liberal Party regained their third seat (for a total of six) at the 2019 election, with One Nation losing their sole seat. There was no change for Labor or the Greens.

The 2022 election was a strong one for the left in Western Australia. Labor won three seats in the state for the first time ever at a six-seat Senate election. They managed to do so not by defeating another left party for the third seat, but by winning a seat off the right. Labor won three seats along with two Liberals and one Green. This was crucial in producing a progressive majority in the Senate.

The Liberal Party lost another seat in 2025, with One Nation winning the third right-wing seat. This is the first One Nation victory in the state at a half-Senate election.

2025 result

Preference flows
Three seats were won on primary votes: two for Labor and one for the Liberal Party. The Greens won the fourth seat before the final stages of the count.

We can now fast forward to the last eight candidates contesting the last two seats:

• Matt O’Sullivan (LIB) – 0.8805 quotas
• Deep Singh (ALP) – 0.5666
• Tyron Whitten (ON) – 0.4404
• Jason Meotti (LGC) – 0.3362
• Paul Brown (NAT) – 0.2679
• Steve Klomp (CHR) – 0.2208
• Melissa Bannister (TOP) – 0.1398
• Madison King (GRPF) – 0.1325

People First preferences flowed most strongly to One Nation:

• O’Sullivan (LIB) – 0.8870
• Singh (ALP) – 0.5755
• Whitten (ON) – 0.4882
• Meotti (LGC) – 0.3487
• Brown (NAT) – 0.2736
• Klomp (CHR) – 0.2430
• Bannister (TOP) – 0.1620

Trumpet of Patriots preferences also favoured One Nation:

• O’Sullivan (LIB) – 0.9045
• Singh (ALP) – 0.5917
• Whitten (ON) – 0.5498
• Meotti (LGC) – 0.3683
• Brown (NAT) – 0.2804
• Klomp (CHR) – 0.2718

Australian Christians preferences also favoured One Nation:

• O’Sullivan (LIB) – 0.9608
• Whitten (ON) – 0.6493
• Singh (ALP) – 0.6300
• Meotti (LGC) – 0.3819
• Brown (NAT) – 0.2967

Nationals preferences flowed primarily to the Liberal Party, electing O’Sullivan to the fifth seat:

• O’Sullivan (LIB) – 1.1377
• Whitten (ON) – 0.6998
• Singh (ALP) – 0.6603
• Meotti (LGC) – 0.4038

The Liberal surplus widened One Nation’s lead:

• Whitten (ON) – 0.7798
• Singh (ALP) – 0.6899
• Meotti (LGC) – 0.4184

Legalise Cannabis preferences favoured Labor over One Nation but it was not enough to close the gap, and One Nation won.

• Whitten (ON) – 0.8949
• Singh (ALP) – 0.8586

Candidates
No information.

Assessment
This section will be filled in closer to the election.

Become a Patron!