Ben Dawkins

Ben Dawkins is an Australian politician who is a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council. He succeeded Alannah MacTiernan as a member for the South West Region on 20 March 2023. His appointment to parliament was controversial as he had pleaded guilty to breaching a violence restraining order one month prior. Originally a member of the Labor Party, he was suspended from the party just prior to taking his seat in the Legislative Council and was expelled from the party on 24 April 2023.

Ben Dawkins
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for South West
Assumed office
20 March 2023
Preceded byAlannah MacTiernan
Personal details
Political partyIndependent (from 2023)
Labor (until 2023)
OccupationLawyer

Early life

Dawkins was a lawyer from Narrogin, Western Australia, before becoming a politician.[1]

Political career

Dawkins was fifth placed on Labor's South West Region ticket at the 2021 Western Australian state election. The first three candidates on Labor's ticket were elected. Alannah MacTiernan resigned on 10 February 2023 opening up a spot in the South West Region. Bunbury sign-writer John Mondy, the fourth-placed candidate, chose not to take the seat as he was preoccupied with his business. Therefore, the seat went to Dawkins. Prior to taking his seat, Dawkins was suspended from the Labor Party for being charged with 43 counts of breaching a violence restraining order.[2][3][1] He pleaded guilty to the charges on 17 February 2023.[4] Despite that, he was appointed to the Legislative Council on 20 March 2023.[5][6] He has since attempted to have the guilty plea overturned.

Dawkins was expelled from the Labor Party on 24 April 2023.[7] A day later, Dawkins heavily criticised Labor politicians and the McGowan government's policies. He criticised the party for sanctioning him before the court had ruled on his case. He criticised unionists, saying "they are bullying industrial activists akin to extreme vegans and their activities are beyond the law, not publicly funded as such and therefore un-regulatable" He criticised cabinet members, including Mark McGowan, Sue Ellery and Rita Saffioti, saying "they do know better, but they also chose to execute people who have not been found, in my case, to have committed any kind of violence, physical or other. I've sent these guys details of all my supposed charges and the original [restraining order] and they know for certain that I did nothing wrong". He criticised the government's COVID-19 vaccination mandates for violating personal freedoms and said that proposed development reforms were an "overreach". Premier McGowan responded by saying "he was elected by accident really, and he is in court for some pretty serious matters that he actually pleaded guilty to".[8][9]

References

  1. Hastie, Hamish (9 December 2022). "Labor's MacTiernan replacement hopeful faces 43 charges for allegedly breaching VRO". WAtoday. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  2. Moulton, Emily (7 February 2023). "Ben Dawkins: WA Labor Party suspended Legislative Council hopeful vows to fight FVRO breach charges". The West Australian. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  3. Bourke, Keane (8 February 2023). "Alannah MacTiernan has not officially retired, but her exit is already causing Labor headaches". ABC News. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  4. Bourke, Keane (17 February 2023). "Ben Dawkins to be expelled from WA Labor after admitting breaching family violence order". ABC News. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  5. Bourke, Keane (20 March 2023). "Embattled lawyer chosen as Labor's replacement for retiring stalwart Alannah MacTiernan". ABC News. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  6. Le May, Rebecca; Zimmerman, Josh (20 March 2023). "Ben Dawkins replaces Alannah MacTiernan in Upper House as senior ministers urge expulsion from Labor Party". The West Australian. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  7. Bourke, Keane (25 April 2023). "Ben Dawkins expelled by WA Labor over alleged breaches of family violence restraining orders". ABC News. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  8. Zimmerman, Josh (25 April 2023). "Expelled former Labor candidate Ben Dawkins unloads on his former party's dumb, dumber and dumbest members". The West Australian. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  9. Burton, Jesinta (25 April 2023). "MacTiernan replacement Ben Dawkins launches tirade after Labor ousting". WAtoday. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
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