Paula Wriedt

Paula Catherine Wriedt (born 11 December 1968, Hobart) is an Australian former politician. She was a 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. She also banned the use of corporal punishment in all schools and introduced reforms to enhance the education of children with disability in mainstream schools.

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.