WA Election 2025: Albany’s fate hangs in the balance as three-way contest emerges from early primary votes

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

WA Election 2025: Albany’s fate hangs in the balance as three-way contest emerges from early primary votes

Albany voters will have to wait to learn the fate of their seat in the lower house with the Labor, Nationals, and Liberals candidates neck and neck in primary votes, making for a three-way contest between the major parties.

Camera IconMs Stephens said the election was too close to call on the night but thanked her supporters. Credit: Laurie Benson

Flanked by her family, Labor incumbent Rebecca Stephens entered her count party at the Hilton Garden Inn Albany on Saturday night to a loud round of applause.

Though 82 per cent of the primary votes had been counted by the end of the night, the results were still too close to call with Ms Stephens securing a slight lead with 30 per cent of the votes and Nationals candidate Scott Leary and Liberal candidate Thomas Brough both sitting at 22 per cent.

With 82 per cent of the vote counted, the results put Ms Stephens 8 points ahead of her main rivals, but well behind her 2021 result of 51 per cent.

And with 26 per cent of the primary votes going to minor candidates, Albany will have to wait for preferences to be counted before it knows the result.

Speaking to supporters on the night, Ms Stephens said she was “looking forward” to the election results, saying her campaign had “done everything we can”.

“So far, it’s all too early to make predictions,” she said.

“We ran a fantastic campaign, couldn’t have put more effort in.

“We’ve had the support of the community and we’ve been out door-knocking and had conversations.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

At times “gruelling”, Ms Stephens said the campaign had been enjoyable for the resulting conversations with the community.

“Having conversations on the doors with people is really the only way you can understand what are some of the main issues,” she said.

“Probably one of the most humbling things has been people that I’ve helped over the last four years as a city member that have reached out and said, ‘you’ve done x or y and have really helped shape an outcome for them’.

“And that’s what I really take pride in, making sure that we help people in our community.”

While insiders had feared the Federal ban on live sheep exports could cruel Labor’s chances, Ms Stephens said it was health that voters cared about most.

“That’s why the Cook Labor government backed in $60 million for the Albany Health Campus, and it kept coming up time and time again,” she said.

“I think health, cost of living, and education, and . . . what we’ve committed for Albany and Mt Barker reflects what we heard out while campaigning.”

Meanwhile, at home with family and supporters, Mr Leary reflected on his campaign, which had seen him emerge as a potential dark horse for the Nationals after losing out on the Liberal preselection to Dr Brough.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

“It’s been enjoyable, even from the last campaign, you meet a lot of wonderful people, engaged people that are on the same trajectory,” he said.

“So it’s a matter of harnessing them and knowing that we’ve got an end game.”

Mr Leary said that the live export issue “kept coming up time and time again” but “fundamental basics” like housing were the focus of his campaign.

The well-respected businessman has capitalised on the frustrations felt towards the incumbent government while offering an alternative for moderate conservatives as the Liberals face their own challenges, with Dr Brough making headlines for controversial comments about the LGBTQIA+ community, abortion and gun control.

“We put in a lot of hard work, and we know that there’s a lot of grassroots support,” Mr Leary said.

“Some long term voters in both camps that were sort of looking for an alternative and were happy to supply their difference.”

Over at Keep the Sheep Stadium, Dr Brough was surrounded by family and supporters, including independents Mario Lionetti and Louise Kingston and *********** Christians candidate Gerrit Ballast.

“I always laugh that everyone who’s on the sort of the right side of politics, sort of conservative side of politics, has been able to get along,” Dr Brough said.

“Doesn’t matter whether you’re independent, whether you’re ex-Nats, whether you’re Libs, the Nats were coming here as well, we got the *********** Christians, it’s just awesome.”

Dr Brough said he was sorry not to see a result on the night, but pleased with the early primary votes.

“We’ll just have to sit tight and trust in divine providence, but I’m pretty sure that we’ve done the primary objective, which is to kick Labor out of here,” he said.

“So let’s just sit and wait, and I’ll save all the thanks for later when we know whether we won or lost the seat of Albany.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Ms Kingston, who ran as an independent in the upper house, was effusive in her praise of Dr Brough, describing him as an “amazing human being”.

“He’s just speaking to the people down here that need to hear,” she said.

“There’s a big majority that have been sleeping for a long time.

“They’re starting to wake up.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Mr Lionetti, who had scored 7 per cent of the primary votes on Saturday night, said his own campaign had been “good”.

“Being an independent, it’s probably been easier because you can speak your mind without having someone controlling you, if that makes any sense,” he said.

The business owner and Albany city councillor said he had focused on what people had told him they wanted.

“If it doesn’t work well, we’ll come back in four years to try again,” he said.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Election #Albanys #fate #hangs #balance #threeway #contest #emerges #early #primary #votes

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up