Ken Wyatt | |
---|---|
Minister for Indigenous Australians | |
In office 29 May 2019 – 23 May 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
Preceded by | Nigel Scullion |
Succeeded by | Linda Burney |
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care | |
In office 24 January 2017 – 29 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison |
Preceded by | Himself (as assistant minister) |
Succeeded by | Richard Colbeck |
Minister for Indigenous Health | |
In office 24 January 2017 – 29 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison |
Preceded by | Warren Snowdon (2013) |
Succeeded by | Abolished |
Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care | |
In office 30 September 2015 – 24 January 2017 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull |
Preceded by | Fiona Nash |
Succeeded by | Himself (as Minister for Aged Care) David Gillespie (as Assistant Minister for Health) |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Hasluck | |
In office 21 August 2010 – 21 May 2022 | |
Preceded by | Sharryn Jackson |
Succeeded by | Tania Lawrence |
Personal details | |
Born | Kenneth George Wyatt 4 August 1952 Bunbury, Western Australia, Australia |
Political party | Independent (since 2023) |
Other political affiliations | Liberal (until 2023) |
Spouse(s) |
Anna-Maria Palermo (m. 2010)Roza Veskovich (div.) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Cedric Wyatt (cousin), Ben Wyatt (second cousin) |
Occupation | Public servant |
Profession | Teacher |
Kenneth George Wyatt AM (born 4 August 1952) is an Australian former politician. He 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 elected to the House of Representatives, the first to serve as a government minister, and the first appointed to cabinet.
Wyatt was appointed Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Indigenous Health in the Turnbull government in January 2017, after previously serving as an assistant minister since September 2015. He was elevated to cabinet in May 2019 as Minister for Indigenous Australians in the Morrison government. At the 2022 federal election, Wyatt lost his seat to the Labor candidate Tania Lawrence.
On 6 April 2023 Wyatt resigned his membership of the Liberal Party over its stance on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, after leader Peter Dutton had announced the party's decision to support the "No" vote at the referendum on the Voice.