Josh Wilson

Biography

Joshua Hamilton Wilson is an Australian politician who was born on June 5, 1972 in Westminster, London. As a child, he lived in India and Long Island, New York before moving to Fremantle. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Melbourne.

Prior to entering politics, Wilson worked as an Associate Lecturer at Curtin University, a paralegal and litigation project manager, a freelance journalist, and a travel writer. He also served as a councillor for the City of Fremantle from 2009 to 2016 and was Deputy Mayor of Fremantle from 2011. During his time as Deputy Mayor, Wilson initiated the “Fremantle Forever” campaign, which opposed local government amalgamations, worked on economic development and revitalisation, and introduced an Indigenous employment target.

Wilson initially lost the preselection to contest the seat of Fremantle in the 2016 federal election to Chris Brown. However, he became the candidate when Brown was forced to stand aside after failing to declare spent convictions. Wilson won the seat of Fremantle with 40.99% of the primary vote and 57.52% of the two-party-preferred vote in the 2016 federal election.

However, on May 9, 2018, Wilson announced his resignation from the House of Representatives following the High Court of Australia’s ruling that Senator Katy Gallagher was ineligible to contest the 2016 election. Like Gallagher, Wilson had failed to renounce his British citizenship before nomination in the 2016 federal election. Wilson was re-elected in the subsequent 2018 Fremantle by-election.