An Australian state MP has legally changed his name to "Aussie Trump", in what he says is a protest against the country's ruling centre-left Labor Party.

Trump, formerly known as Ben Dawkins, is an independent MP in Western Australia's upper house of parliament, where Labor also has a majority.

"I've launched a political protest against the tyranny and systematic corruption of the Labor government in WA," he wrote in an online post, signing off as "Aussie".

"Vote Labor Out! & Drill Baby Drill!," he wrote in a second post, echoing his American namesake's plan to increase extraction of oil and gas in the US.

The lawmaker's name on the parliament's website has been updated to Austin (Aussie) Letts Trump.

Aussie Trump said he admired the US president's leadership style.

"Donald Trump is great at calling out absurd, woke, leftist stuff and that's what Aussie Trump is intending to do," he said.

"As Donald would say, 'we shouldn't be held hostage to the Green-Labor climate ideology – we need to drill, baby, drill'."

Aussie Trump is a lawyer who was elected to parliament as a Labor MP before being booted from the party in 2023. 

He said agricultural laws, electoral funding rules, firearms reforms and Covid-19 vaccine mandates had motivated his decision.

He also posted a photo online showing legal confirmation of the name change from the state's register of Births, Death and Marriages.

Labor faces a state vote in resource-rich Western Australia next month, before the country goes to the polls in a nationwide election that must be held by May.