Darren James Webber (born 29 June 1981), an Australian politician, was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

representing

Wyong Wyong () is a town on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately South-South-West of Newcastle and North-North-East of the state capital Sydney. Established in , it is one of the two administrative centres fo ...

on the Central Coast for 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 ...

from the 2011 New South Wales state election until 19 February 2014 when he moved to the parliamentary

crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

and sat as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

after the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence that Webber may have breached electoral funding laws. He retired from politics in 2015.

Early career and background

With a family history in the area dating back over sixty years, Webber attended primary school at Berkeley Vale and attended Terrigal High School From year seven to year twelve, graduating in 1999, going onto a trade school at

. He was originally apprenticed as a

smallgoods Smallgoods is a term used in New Zealand and Australia to refer to small meat products such as ham, bacon, sausages or salami.The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Fifth edition; 2002) Volume 2, p. 2884. Many companies, such as Primo Small ...

butcher, but terminated that and became an apprentice electrician, apparently not finishing that apprenticeship either. Webber owned a business installing home theatre systems and had a long involvement with local

surf life saving clubs Surf is the region of breaking waves on a shoaling area of water such as a shoreline or reef. Surf or SURF may also refer to: Commercial products * Surf (detergent), a brand of laundry detergent made by Unilever Computers and software * " ...

. While working, Webber was involved in a serious workplace accident and says he "experienced first hand the poor state of our hospitals", which subsequently led to his decision to run for office.

Political career

Preselected in 2010 by the Liberal Party, Webber is single and used this to his advantage during the election campaign by handing roses to potential voters on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

which fell a month before polling day. At the 2011 state election, Webber was elected with a swing of 14.3 points and won the seat with 52.6 per cent of the

two-party A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

vote, and is the first Liberal to represent Wyong. Webber's main opponent was the sitting

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member, David Harris. In February 2014, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) commenced investigating allegations of corrupt conduct. In response to the inquiry, the Liberal partyroom began the process of suspending MPs including Webber from the parliamentary party, even though they had just renominated for their seats. Before this process began, Webber and others resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as independents.Chris Hartcher, Darren Webber and Chris Spence step down from Liberal Party amid corruption claims

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

, 2014-02-19. Webber did not contest the March 2015 state election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Darren 1981 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales 21st-century Australian politicians