Wilkie was born in Perth on 3 June 1959. He worked a number of jobs before entering politics, including as a farmer, prison officer and employment officer with the YMCA in Victoria Park.[1]
In parliament, Wilkie was "heavily involved in international affairs as a member of the Joint Standing Committee for Treaties and the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade".[2] He was also a member of the speaker's panel from 2002 to 2007.[1] Wilkie reportedly supported Kevin Rudd against incumbent leader Kim Beazley in the 2006 Australian Labor Party leadership spill.[3] In September 2006 he and Warren Snowdon were suspended from parliament in a heated debate on the Liberal government's proposed abolition of the permit system used by remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.[4]
Wilkie's seat was marginal throughout his time in parliament. He won Swan by just over 100 votes at the 2004 election.[5] The losing Liberal candidate Andrew Murfin had a request for a recount denied by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).[6] Wilkie was in turn defeated by Liberal candidate Steve Irons by just over 150 votes at the 2007 election. He was the only incumbent Labor MP defeated at the election.[7]
Later life
In 2010, Wilkie was appointed chief executive of the Confederation of Meningitis Organizations.[2]
