Alasdair Webster

Alasdair Paine Webster OAM (born 12 February 1934) is a retired Australian politician.

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	(1934-02-12) 12 February 1934 East Maitland, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia Call to Australia Party Christian Democratic Party
Children	5
Residence	Springwood, New South Wales
Occupation	Politician, teacher, superintendent

Webster was born in East Maitland, New South Wales. He underwent military service in 1953, attended the University of New England, and became a teacher.

Webster was chief superintendent of Daruk Boys' Home from 1973 to 1984. A 2018 60 Minutes report revealed in his time there, he facilitated and wilfully ignored rampant child abuse, including child sexual abuse.[1]

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. Labor's Maggie Deahm 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 mislead the voters that Deahm was a Democrat Candidate. Justice Mary Gaudron dismissed all but three of the allegations.[2] 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 the costs of Deahm.[3]

Webster subsequently joined the Call to Australia Party and unsuccessfully contested the Senate for them in 1996. He also contested the New South Wales Legislative Council for the Christian Democratic Party at the 1999 and 2003 state elections.

Webster was a delegate to the 1998 Australian Constitutional Convention, which met to discuss the issue of an Australian republic.[4]

He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on Australia Day 2008 for "services to the Parliament of Australia, and to the community through Indigenous, educational and service organisations".[5]

On 11 March 2020, it was revealed that Webster is facing historical sexual abuse charges dating back to his time as superintendent of Daruk Boys' Home.[6] In May 2020, his application for a suppression order on the case was refused by the court.[7]

References

1. 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
2. Webster v Deahm [1993] HCA 38, (1993) 116 ALR 223 (3 September 1993).
3. "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.
4. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
5. "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) entry for Mr Alasdair Paine Webster". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
6. Former federal Liberal MP Alasdair Webster facing historical sexual assault charges, Seven News, 11 March 2020
7. 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.

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Ross Free	Member for Macquarie 1984–1993	Succeeded by Maggie Deahm