Benjamin Sana Wyatt (born 1 April 1974) is an Australian politician who was the Labor Party member for the seat of Victoria Park in the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 2006 to 2021. Born in

Wewak Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city (seat) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak. ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, to Australian parents, Wyatt moved to Western Australia at an early age, where he attended Aquinas College in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. He went on to receive a law degree from the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, later attending the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

on a scholarship. Wyatt returned to Australia in 2002, where he worked as a lawyer. He was elected to parliament in 2006, at the Victoria Park by-election, replacing

Geoff Gallop Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government at ...

, a former

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. While he was the state's Aboriginal Affairs Minister, his federal counterpart the Indigenous Australians Minister, was his cousin

Ken Wyatt Kenneth George Wyatt (born 4 August 1952) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, representing the Division of Hasluck for the Liberal Party. He is the first Indigenous Australian el ...

Biography

Wyatt was born on 1 April 1974 in

, a town on the northern coast of what was then the

Territory of Papua New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...

. His parents were both school-teachers on an exchange program—his father,

Cedric Wyatt Cedric Wyatt (7 April 1940 – 25 September 2014) was an Australian public servant and indigenous rights advocate. A cousin of Ken Wyatt and the father of Ben Wyatt, both elected politicians, Wyatt worked in senior positions for Western Australi ...

, was originally from the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

, and his mother was originally from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, New South Wales."Ben Wyatt" – '' West Weekend'' magazine. p. 18. Published 21–22 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012. Wyatt has

Yamatji Yamatji (or Yamaji) is a Wajarri word that has at least three different meanings: * a member of the Watjarri people * any Aboriginal Australian person from the Murchison region of Western Australia * any group made up of members of different I ...

heritage through his father, and his cousin,

, was the first member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

descent.Cleary, Paul (2013)
Meet Ben Wyatt, one of the most accomplished MPs you've never heard of
– ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

''. Published 9 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013. His family returned to

, Western Australia, in 1976. Wyatt grew up in regional Western Australia, with his parents teaching in various locations in the

Goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United State ...

, including Laverton and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

. He returned to Perth to attend high school at Aquinas College, and later studied at the

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree. He also attended the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

, graduating as an

Australian Army Reserve The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

officer in 1996, and later received the

Australian Defence Medal The Australian Defence Medal is an Australian military decoration which recognises current and former Australian Defence Force personnel who completed an initial enlistment period, or four years' service. It was established on 20 March 2006; how ...

. After working in law firms in Perth and Sydney, Wyatt received an Ambassadorial Scholarship in 2001 from the Rotary Foundation, allowing him to study comparative politics at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

.Wyatt’s First Speech in Parliament
– Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 21 April 2012. After returning to Western Australia in 2002, Wyatt began working at

MinterEllison MinterEllison is a multinational law firm, and professional services firm, based in Australia. The firm has fifteen offices and operates in five countries. By number of lawyers it is the largest law firm in Australia. History MinterEllison is ...

, one of the "Big Six" law firms in Australia. He also worked at the

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

before running for

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the 2006 Victoria Park by-election, triggered by the resignation of

, the

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

at the time. Wyatt won the seat with 49.38% of the direct vote and 61.18% of the

two-party A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...

vote – a swing of 7.93 and 4.86 points, respectively, against the Labor Party, becoming the second-youngest sitting parliamentarian and the third Aboriginal Australian in parliament. After Labor's defeat in the 2008 state election, Wyatt was promoted to the role of treasurer in the new shadow cabinet as well as Shadow Minister for Federal–State Relations and Shadow Minister for Culture and the Arts.Mr Benjamin (Ben) Sana Wyatt MLA LLB, MSc
– Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2013. In January 2011, Wyatt intended to challenge

Eric Ripper Eric Stephen Ripper (born 13 September 1951) is a retired Australian politician. From 2008 to 2012 he was Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia. He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper late ...

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

and of the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia, but withdrew after finding little support amongst caucus members. Ripper resigned from the position in January 2012, but Wyatt did not contest the leadership, with

Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician, the 30th premier of Western Australia, and the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party. McGowan was born and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. He attended t ...

being elected unopposed as Leader of the Opposition. After the 2017 election, Ben Wyatt became the first indigenous treasurer for any Australian state or territory. On 25 February 2020, Ben Wyatt announced his intention to retire from parliament at the next election. He would continue in his role as treasurer until then. However, in March 2020, Wyatt reversed his decision to quit and announced he would stay on to assist the McGowan government in the state's economic recovery from the

COVID-19 crisis The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In November 2020, he again announced his intention to retire at the March 2021 state election. Wyatt is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and has two daughters.

List of portfolios

In the period from his election in 2006 to his resignation in 2021, Wyatt held the following portfolios: * 26 September 2008 – 8 April 2009: Shadow Treasurer; Shadow Minister for Federal–State Relations; Shadow Minister for Culture and the Arts * 8 April 2009 – 27 January 2012: Shadow Treasurer; Shadow Minister for Federal–State Relations * 27 January 2012 – 9 April 2013: Shadow Treasurer; Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs; Shadow Minister for Native Title; Shadow Minister for Cost of Living * 9 April 2013 – 17 March 2017: Shadow Treasurer; Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs; Shadow Minister for Native Title; Shadow Minister for Cost of Living; Shadow Minister for the Kimberley; Shadow Minister for the Pilbara * 17 March 2017 – 13 December 2018: Treasurer; Minister for Finance; Minister for Energy; Minister for Aboriginal Affairs * 13 December 2018 – 13 March 2021: Treasurer; Minister for Finance; Minister for Aboriginal Affairs; Minister for Lands

References

External links

Biography from the Parliament of Western Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Ben 1974 births Living people 21st-century Australian lawyers Australian Roman Catholics Indigenous Australian politicians Indigenous Australians from Western Australia Alumni of the London School of Economics Treasurers of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Papua New Guinean emigrants to Australia People educated at Aquinas College, Perth People from East Sepik Province Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates University of Western Australia alumni Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Energy Ministers of Western Australia