Paula Wriedt
| Paula Catherine Wriedt | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Tasmanian Parliament for Franklin |
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In office 24 February 1996 – 18 January 2009 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
11 December 1968 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Dale Rahmanovic (divorced) |
| Children | Daniel (b. 2000), Amy (b. 2001) |
Paula Catherine Wriedt (born 11 December 1968, Hobart) is a former Australian politician. She was an Australian Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, representing the outer suburban Hobart seat of Franklin. She was first elected to parliament in the 1996 election. Wriedt is the daughter of former state Labor leader and Whitlam Government Minister for Agriculture Ken Wriedt.
Wriedt was appointed Minister for Education in 1998, becoming the youngest ever female member of Cabinet in Tasmania. As Education Minister, in December 2000, she launched "Learning Together", a major policy on education, training and information provision for the state of Tasmania. Learning Together promised a complete overhaul of the state's education system, introducing the Essential Learnings Curriculum as a trial way to assess and teach students. Wriedt also funded the establishment of a number of child care centres co-located with government primary schools, and saw the raising of Tasmania's school leaving age from 16 to 17 years.
In 2002 she also became Minister for Women. In 2005, Wriedt initiated the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women to recognise the significant contribution that women have made to Tasmania throughout history.
In the 2006 Tasmanian state election Wriedt suffered a decline in her primary vote, almost losing her seat to Liberal challenger Vanessa Goodwin, after criticism of the government over the Essential Learnings Curriculum. After the election, she became Minister for Tourism, Arts and the Environment, while David Bartlett assumed her Education portfolio. Following a cabinet reshuffle in January 2008, Wriedt was appointed Minister for Economic Development and Tourism.
On 31 July 2008, Wriedt was the subject of a comment, which some described as a "lewd" remark, made by Sam Newman on the Nine Network's AFL Footy Show. Wriedt appeared on the show to announce a A$4 million sponsorship deal for a Tasmanian AFL team bid. Wriedt described the remark as "stupid and inappropriate", and Newman apologised the following day.
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