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According to ABC News, Western Australia’s upcoming Secret Harbour by-election has renewed debate over whether members of parliament should live in the communities they represent. None of the key candidates seeking to replace retiring MP Paul Papalia lives within the electorate’s boundaries, while ABC analysis of parliamentary disclosures found at least seven lower house members live outside their seats.

All of the lower house MPs identified in the analysis were Labor members in metropolitan Perth. They include Premier Roger Cook, who recently moved to West Perth, about 38 kilometres from his Kwinana electorate. Cabinet ministers Meredith Hammat, Don Punch and Rita Saffioti also live outside their electorates. Saffioti’s disclosures show she lives in Victoria Park, about 12 kilometres from West Swan.

There is no rule requiring WA politicians to reside in the electorate they represent. Eligibility requirements include being at least 18, being an Australian citizen who has lived in the state for more than a year, being enrolled to vote and having no legal incapacity. Australian National University research fellow Pandanus Petter said voters’ choices were generally shaped by party labels, policy preferences and views of the incumbent government, though regional voters might place greater importance on having a local representative.

Labor candidate Georgia Tree owns property near Perth’s CBD but said she would live in Port Kennedy during the campaign. Liberal candidate Ryan Robertson lives in neighbouring Rockingham, while Greens candidate Rhi Davies said she lives 3.4 kilometres from the electorate border. Papalia, the seat’s former representative, lived just outside Fremantle, according to parliamentary records.

Opposition leader Basil Zempilas said he and the other five lower house Liberal MPs lived in their electorates, contrasting that approach with the premier’s. Saffioti said constituents wanted representatives to deliver for their communities. Petter said an MP’s connection to an electorate extended beyond their home address, noting that politicians often spend more than full-time working hours in the areas they represent.