Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is favourite to win a seat from Labor in WA by-election on Saturday

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party is poised to snatch a prime state seat from Labor in a state by-election on Saturday that will be closely watched in Canberra.

Voters in the southern Perth seat of Secret Harbour will head to the ballot box on Saturday, in a test of Labor’s ability to hold its ground against One Nation.

A One Nation win in Secret Harbour would mark the first loss of a Labor stronghold to the populist minor party and set the tone for federal contests at the election due in 2028.

One Nation has vowed to run in every seat at the next federal election and is gunning for Labor’s territory in Western Australia.

The latest News24.com.au Pulse/YouGov poll shows One Nation’s primary vote climbing two percentage points to 26 per cent, trailing Labor, up one percentage point, at 29 per cent.

The Coalition fell to 21 per cent, dropping by one percentage point, while the Greens remained unchanged on 12 per cent.

Anthony Albanese has made no secret of the importance of WA to his government after wins in the West help him secure victory in 2022.

The Prime Minister was in Perth at the beginning of the week, for his 45th visit to the state since becoming PM.

He has also doubled down on the controversial GST deal with WA, despite immense pressure from most other states to overhaul it.

The Prime Minister this week joined his close ally, West Australian Premier Roger Cook, in dismissing initial Productivity Commission findings that 2018 GST reforms were “a costly mistake” that have “have made the system less equitable and more complex while costing Australian taxpayers almost $23 billion to 2024-25”.

The reforms, introduced under the Coalition, created a 75 per cent floor to stop Western Australia’s share dropping too low.

“What I believe is … there will be no change to WA’s GST arrangements whilst I’m prime minister,” Mr Albanese said in Perth on Monday.

“That is my view. That has consistently been my view. The floor of 75 per cent will absolutely stay.

“I think that WA deserves that because WA contributes to the national economy and helps to helps to drive that economy.”