Ben Wyatt

Benjamin Sana "Ben" Wyatt (born 1 April 1974) is an Australian politician who is the current Labor Party member for the seat of Victoria Park in the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia. Born in Wewak, Papua New Guinea, to Australian parents, Wyatt moved to Western Australia at an early age, where he attended Aquinas College in Perth. He went on to receive a law degree from the University of Western Australia, later attending the London School of Economics 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, a former premier. Wyatt currently serves as Treasurer and Minister for Finance, Energy and Aboriginal Affairs. 2Biography Wyatt was born on 1 April 1974 in Wewak, a town on the northern coast of what was then Territory of Papua New Guinea. His parents were both school-teachers on an exchange program—his father, Cedric Wyatt, was originally from the Pilbara, and his mother was originally from Newcastle, New South Wales. Wyatt has Yamatji heritage through his father, and his cousin, Ken Wyatt, was the first member of the Australian House of Representatives of Indigenous Australian descent. His family returned to Perth, Western Australia, in 197