Teal independent Kate Hulett poised to win safe WA Labor seat

The teal independent behind the likely shock defeat of a WA Labor minister says her win should be a warning to Tanya Plibersek.

Teal independent Kate Hulett outside the office of WA Water Minister Simone McGurk in Fremantle. Picture: Colin Murty

The teal independent behind the likely shock defeat of a WA Labor minister in one of the party’s heartland seats says her win should be a warning to federal ­Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.

Fashion store owner Kate ­Hulett was on track to claim the seat of Fremantle from Cook government Water Minister Simone McGurk, in what was perhaps the biggest upset of the WA election.

The seat has almost always been held by Labor and Ms McGurk enjoyed a margin of more than 15 per cent going into the weekend’s election.

Cook government minister Simone McGurk. Picture: NewsWire/Philip Gostelow

But she had been the target of a concerted and well-funded campaign that was highly critical of the Cook government’s environmental record, and in particular its perceived support for the state’s major miners and oil and gas producers.

The Cook government late last year formally approved Woodside Energy’s extension of the North West Shelf gas project out to 2070, triggering fury among environmentalists, and successfully lobbied Anthony Albanese to kill off Ms Plibersek’s proposed nature positive laws.

Ms Plibersek is due to decide later this month whether to ­approve the North West Shelf extension, although she has the ability to again delay her decision.

Ms Hulett had received significant financial support from Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 as well as the broader community, leaving her with a six-figure war chest. Speaking on Sunday, Ms Hulett said her apparent victory should be a reminder to Ms Plibersek that voters expected the government to work for them, and not for gas companies.

Federal Minister Tanya Plibersek. Picture: Christian Gilles

“Tanya Plibersek and the government need to consider the citizens and the citizens of the future when making these decisions,” she said. “That the nature positive laws were overturned because of the West Australian government is an embarrassment, and I think a deep shame for us West Australians, ­because that doesn’t represent what we want.”

The shock loss of a safe Labor seat due to the Cook government’s environmental record will stoke concerns among other inner-city Labor MPs around the country.

Ms Hulett said she had no doubt that the Cook government’s decision to approve the North West Shelf had helped her campaign. She said the government’s decision to wave the project through was “a crazy thing to do”.

Her win could come despite the Liberals deciding to direct their preferences in the seat to Labor.

WA Premier Roger Cook said it would be very disappointing to lose Ms McGurk, who he ­described as a friend and an important member of his team.

He defended his government’s environmental record, noting it had been responsible for banning native logging and single-use plastics, and had committed to phasing out coal-fired power in the state.

But he said he stood by the government’s decisions around oil and gas. “We’ll stand up for WA jobs, we’ll stand up for the WA economy and we’ll keep the economy strong,” he said.

“Government is tough. You have to make tough decisions. You have to make decisions in the best interests of the entire state. That sometimes disappoints some people, but you need to make sure that you provide strong government, and that’s what the WA public ­endorsed yesterday, the strong government that we’ve provided to the people of this state.”

Greens resources spokeswoman Dorinda Cox had said the party would push Labor to block the North West Shelf in the event of a minority government. Federal teal independent Kate Chaney has repeatedly called for Ms Plibersek to block the project, but now says she is comfortable for it to go ahead if sufficient conditions are imposed. The federal government has repeatedly said the decision on the North West Shelf will be made only according to law.