Alasdair Paine Webster (born 12 February 1934) is an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n former politician.

Early life

Webster was born in

East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The traditional owners and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people. Commercial areas Green Hills is a major commercial district called which includes the larg ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. He underwent military service in 1953, attended the University of New England, and became a teacher. From 1973 to 1984, Webster was chief superintendent of Daruk Boys' Home in

Windsor, New South Wales Windsor is a historic town in north-western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It is the council Seat of government, seat of the City of Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Local government in Australia, local government area. The town sits on the Hawkesb ...

Politics

Federal politics

In 1984, Webster was elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

for the seat of Macquarie as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He held the seat until his defeat in 1993 by Maggie Deahm, representing the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

, 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.. 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.

Later activities

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 The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

for the Christian Democratic Party at the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and 2003 state elections. Webster was a delegate to the 1998 Australian Constitutional Convention, which met to discuss the issue of an Australian

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. He was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

on Australia Day 2008 for "services to the Parliament of Australia, and to the community, through Indigenous, educational and service organisations".

Child sexual abuse charges

In 2018,

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

reported that during his time at Daruk Boys' Home, he had facilitated and wilfully ignored rampant

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

, including

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

. 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.Former federal Liberal MP Alasdair Webster facing historical sexual assault charges

Seven News Seven News (stylised 7NEWS) is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...

, 11 March 2020 In May 2020, his application for a

suppression order A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed on to any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...

on the case was refused by the court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Alasdair 1934 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Christian Democratic Party (Australia) politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Macquarie Members of the Australian House of Representatives People from Maitland, New South Wales Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian monarchists Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 Australian MPs 1990–1993