Perth, Australia – An Australian state lawmaker has changed his name to “Aussie Trump” as a protest against the ruling centre-left Labor Party.
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Formerly known as Ben Dawkins, the independent lawmaker in Western Australia’s (WA) upper house of parliament, where Labor holds a majority, announced his new name in a post on X on February 5.
Political protest and new identity
“I’ve launched a political protest against the tyranny and systematic corruption of the Labor government in WA,” Trump wrote, signing off as “Aussie”.
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In a second post, he echoed U.S. President Donald Trump’s slogan, writing, “Vote Labor Out! & Drill Baby Drill!”
According to Reuters, the parliament’s website has updated the lawmaker’s name to Austin (Aussie) Letts Trump. He also posted a photo on X showing legal confirmation of the name change from the state’s Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages.
Controversy and criticism
The Australian Trump was expelled from the Labor Party in 2023 for multiple alleged breaches of family violence restraining orders.
Western Australia’s Premier Roger Cook dismissed the name change as “attention-seeking stuff” and commented, “I’m not sure how much lower he can go.”
Labor faces a state vote in resource-rich Western Australia next month, before the country goes to the polls in a nationwide election by May.