Anika Wells
Anika Shay Wells (born 11 August 1985) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and represents the Division of Lilley in Queensland. Early life. Wells was born in Brisbane, Queensland, on 11 August 1985. Her father, an accountant, was born in Melbourne and her mother, an administrator, was born in New Zealand. As a result, Wells held New Zealand citizenship by descent until February 2018, when she renounced it to stand for parliament. Wells graduated Moreton  Bay College as school captain. She holds arts and law degrees from Griffith University as well as a graduate diploma in legal practice from the Australian National University. Career. Prior to entering politics, Wells worked as an adviser to the federal government for five years. She was admitted to practise law in 2012 and joined Maurice Blackburn in 2014 as a compensation lawyer. She worked on a number of cases related to immigration detention. Politics. In March 2018, Wells won Labor preselection for the Division of Lilley, replacing the retiring member Wayne Swan. She won the seat at the 2019  federal election despite a five-point swing against the ALP on the two-party-preferred count. At the time, Wells was Australia's youngest female MP at 34. Wells served on the "Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia", which delivered its interim report in December 2020. Personal life. Wells already had one daughter when she entered parliament. She and husband Finn added twin sons in 2020.