Antonio De Paulo "Tony" Buti (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

representing the seat of Armadale since 2 October 2010, when he was elected in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. Buti attended the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

and later the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, where he studied law, receiving his LL.B in 1992. He completed his PhD, which dealt with guardianship law and the Stolen Generations, at Wolfson College,

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 2003. From 1997, Buti lectured at the School of Law in

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

. He is the author of several books on the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, as well as sports law. Another book he wrote was an overview of the Perth Mint Swindle in 2011. He also wrote a biography of Sir Ronald Wilson. He was also chairman of the Armadale Redevelopment Authority prior to the reformation of the Redevelopment Authorities into the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority, and subsequently, DevelopmentWA. In 2010, following Labor frontbencher Alannah MacTiernan's resignation from the state Parliament to contest the federal seat of

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...

at the 2010 federal election, Buti was preselected as Labor's candidate for the 2010 Armadale state by-election. He won the seat easily with 57.9% of the primary vote and a two-party-preferred vote of 70.6% versus the Christian Democratic Party (the governing

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

did not run a candidate). Following the

2021 Western Australian state election The 2021 Western Australian state election was held on Saturday 13 March to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, where all 59 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly and all 36 seats in the We ...

, Buti was formally sworn in as minister for finance; lands; sport and recreation; citizenship and multicultural interests on 19 March 2021. On 14 December 2022, following a cabinet reshuffle, Buti became minister for education, minister for Aboriginal affairs, and minister for citizenship and multicultural interests. Buti was re-elected in the

2025 Western Australian state election The 2025 Western Australian state election was held on 8 March 2025 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, where all 59 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly and all 37 seats in the Western ...

Bibliography

* * (with David Thorpe, Chris Davies and Paul Jonson) * (with David Thorpe, Chris Davies, Saul Fridman and Paul Jonson) * * * * (with Saul Fridman)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buti, Tony 1961 births Living people Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly University of Western Australia alumni Australian National University alumni Alumni of Wolfson College, Oxford Academic staff of Murdoch University Academic staff of the University of Western Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Collie, Western Australia Writers from Perth, Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Australian politicians of Italian descent Australian people of Calabrian descent Australian expatriates in England Western Australian schoolteachers Western Australian lawyers Ministers for education (Western Australia)