WA politician changes name to 'Aussie' Trump ahead of state election

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Analysts reckon a decision by an outsider West Australian state politician to go by Austin "Aussie" Trump could be an early sign of Trump-style tactics taking root in a dual-election year.

The independent politician, formerly known as Benjamin Letts Dawkins, was a member for the South West region in the Legislative Council for the most recent parliamentary term.

Originally an ALP Member of the Legislative Council, Mr Trump was kicked out of the party after pleading guilty to 35 breaches of an intervention order in relation to his ex-partner.

He switched to One Nation and was set to lead their Legislative Council ticket, but got pulled from the job at the last minute by party leader Pauline Hanson.

Veteran West Australian political analyst Peter Kennedy reckoned it was a "great publicity stunt" from a chaotic politician.

And with upper house candidates needing a fair dinkum two per cent of the vote just to win a seat under WA's revised system, Mr Kennedy said any publicity would give them a big leg-up.

"Some people think you need a heap of votes to get elected to the upper house, but it's actually less than three per cent of the total vote," he said.

If he can get what he's after through this idea, it'll be a winner for him.

Mr "Aussie" Trump said the alteration was a protest against left-wing "nonsense."

"It's a political demonstration. It's not an extreme action at all," he said.

I've strolled into the marriage registra with one surname and strolled out with another.

'Extremely cringe', locals say

The rebrand was given short shrift by voters outside Mr Trump's office yesterday in Bunbury.

"I think it's showy and I wouldn't bother with that sort of bloke," local Martin Piercey said.

He reckoned it was concerning the way Australian politicians were trying to tap into Donald Trump's public appeal.

Tia Spence said she wasn't entirely opposed to Donald Trump, but wasn't a fan of the name change.

"That's bloody awful and so clearly attention-seeking," she said.

To be real, I reckon some of the changes Trump brought in have been alright … even though I'm a bit of a leftie.

But she said she could "never vote for the local candidate".

But Northern Territory resident Shelly Watson agreed with the new name.

"Something that really grabs ya is always a fair dinkum option," she said.

A good slogan for any situation is always a plus.

Trumpian politics in Australia

Political commentators are waiting to find out how much the influence of US President Donald Trump will shape Australia's political scene before the federal election.

"It's hard to say for certain what the impact will be overseas, but it's possible it will flow on to other places, including Australia," Mr Kennedy said.

Fair dinkum, the bloke in charge isn't the only Aussie politician who's copieraing Donald Trump's style.

Last month, Nationals leader David Littleproud floated the idea Australia should "lean into" the gender debate following Mr Trump's executive order rejecting transgender recognition.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has backed the Yank President's suggestion of taking control of the Gaza strip, referring to him as a "big thinker" and "deal-maker".

US Studies Centre research director Jared Mondschein said the cultural and political exchange between the US and Australia has always been strong, with examples all sides of politics.

It's nothing new for one of the Aussie politicians to follow in the States' footsteps on this one.

After the Biden government's Inflation Reduction Act and Green New Deal moves, the Albanese government rolled out their own Aussie-made initiative, in a sense catching up.

But Dr Mondschein said he couldn't see a Trump-type politician getting into power in Australia anytime soon, largely due to the country's Westminster system of government and compulsory voting.

"There might be some flowery language here and there," he said.

I don't think you'll be seeing characters like Trump emerging in our system because our democracy is structured quite differently.