Alasdair Webster
Alasdair Webster OAM | |
---|---|
Member of the Australian Parliament for Macquarie | |
In office 1 December 1984 – 13 March 1993 | |
Preceded by | Ross Free |
Succeeded by | Maggie Deahm |
Personal details | |
Born | Call to Australia Party Christian Democratic Party | 12 February 1934
Children | 5 |
Residence | Springwood, New South Wales |
Occupation | Politician, teacher, superintendent |
Alasdair Paine Webster
Early life
Webster was born in
From 1973 to 1984, Webster was chief superintendent of Daruk Boys' Home in Windsor, New South Wales.
Politics
Federal politics
In 1984, Webster was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Macquarie as a member of the Liberal Party. He held the seat until his defeat in 1993 by Maggie Deahm, representing the Australian Labor Party, who won by a margin of 105 votes.
Webster challenged the result in the Court of Disputed Returns. He made 22 allegations of irregularities, including widespread electoral fraud, and that an advertisement misled voters into thinking Deahm was a Democrat Candidate. Justice Mary Gaudron dismissed all but three of the allegations.[1] The allegations that remained concerned allegations of multiple voting and impersonation. After the Electoral Commission had investigated the errors made in marking of the certified lists, Webster accepted that the additional marks were explicable as scanning errors. Justice Gaudron dismissed the petition, ordering that the Electoral Commission bear its own costs because of its own errors, but Webster was required to pay Deahm's costs.[2]
Later activities
Webster subsequently joined the
Webster was a delegate to the 1998
He was awarded the
Child sexual abuse charges
In 2018, 60 Minutes reported that during his time at Daruk Boys' Home, he had facilitated and wilfully ignored rampant child abuse, including child sexual abuse.[5]
On 11 March 2020, it was revealed that Webster was facing historical sexual abuse charges dating back to his time as superintendent of the home.
References
- ^ Webster v Deahm [1993] HCA 38, (1993) 116 ALR 223 (3 September 1993).
- ^ "Example 1: The Webster v Deahm petition and the 1993 election for Macquarie" (PDF). Attachment 19 to Submission No 26 Inquiry into the Integrity of the Electoral Roll. Australian Electoral Commission. 17 October 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2011.
- ^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
- ^ "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) entry for Mr Alasdair Paine Webster". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Verbal abuse, sexual assault and a botched circumcision: Victims of government-run home expose federal politician who ignored alleged child abuse, 60 Minutes, 11 March 2018
- ^ Former federal Liberal MP Alasdair Webster facing historical sexual assault charges, Seven News, 11 March 2020
- ^ McKinnell, Jamie (27 May 2020). "Alasdair Webster refused suppression order over charges of child sex abuse at Daruk Training School". ABC News. Retrieved 27 May 2020.