Alasdair Webster

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

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]