WA politician changes name to ‘Aussie Trump’

A West Australian MP dumped by Labor and One Nation is now known as “Aussie Trump” on the state’s parliament website after legally changing his name to Austin Trump.

The Upper House MP, formerly known as Ben Dawkins, legally changed his name on January 29 to Austin Trump in what he said was a protest of the WA Labor government.

Austin “Aussie” Trump’s Parliament bio has been updated to reflect his name change.Credit: WA Parliament

He shared the official Births, Deaths and Marriage document on his X account, tagging the platform’s owner Elon Musk.

His official biography page on the WA Parliament website has been updated to reflect his name change with his new nickname, Aussie.

He said he admired US President Donald Trump’s politics.

“Look, it’s a political protest in response to all the absurd leftist nonsense that Labor has pushed through since I have been in the parliament in the last two years,” he said.

“Trumps are good at calling out government nonsense and corruption.”

Trump accused Labor of “systemic corruption”, pointing to the party’s acceptance of developer donations and its passage of laws in 2023 that increased the rate of reimbursement for political party state election expenditure from $2.26 per primary vote to $4.40.

“This is a disgrace. It’s giving themselves a pay rise,” he said.

WA Premier Roger Cook said he was speechless at the name change and described it as attention-seeking.

“This is someone who lacked the standards to stay in One Nation ... Lord knows where the show goes from here,” he said.

The 53-year-old lawyer was fifth on Labor’s South West region ticket in the 2021 election and was made an MP after party stalwart Alannah MacTiernan retired.

But Labor dumped him after a raft of restraining order breaches were made public.

He was fined $2000 and handed a 10-month community order after he pleaded guilty to 35 charges of breaching a VRO, which related to multiple emails he sent to his former partner over several months.

He then joined One Nation in February 2024, announcing his membership alongside Pauline Hanson.

However, the relationship with One Nation soured after the party did not endorse him for a spot on their ticket.

In September, Trump said he intended to remain a member of the party, but he has since decided to run as an independent.

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