Tom Webster | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Wakehurst | |
| In office 7 October 1978 –5 March 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Allan Viney |
| Succeeded by | John Booth |
| Deputy Mayor of Warringah | |
| In office 24 September 1996 –23 September 1997 | |
| Mayor | Sam Danieli |
| Preceded by | Sam Danieli |
| Succeeded by | Peter Moxham |
| Councillor on Warringah Council | |
| In office 14 September 1991 –11 September 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Hummerston |
| Succeeded by | Ruth Sutton |
| Constituency | B Riding/A Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Labor |
| Spouse(s) | Maja Gubler (m. 2 February 1980) |
| Children | 1 Son 1 Daughter |
| Alma mater | Sydney Technical College |
| Occupation | Property valuer |
Thomas Stephen Webster,(born 5 July 1950) is a property valuer and former Labor Party local councillor and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly,representing the electorate of Wakehurst from 1978 to 1984. [1]
Born in 1950,Webster was educated at Rozelle Public School and Drummoyne Boys' High School (closed in 1990). [1] After High school he attended Sydney Technical College and became a property valuer from 1970 for the Valuer-General's Department. As a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute (FAPI),Webster served as a divisional councillor from 2004 to 2009 and as president from 2006 to 2007. [2]
Webster joined the Grafton Branch of the Australian Labor Party in 1971 and joined the Dee Why branch in 1976,becoming president from 1977 to 1978. [1] At age 28,he was pre-selected as Labor Party candidate for the NSW State seat of Wakehurst in 1978. The 1978 election saw a huge swing towards the Labor Party in NSW and was known as the 'Wranslide',in reference to the state leader,Neville Wran,with first-time seat wins in Wakehurst,Manly,Cronulla and Willoughby. Webster was elected on 7 October 1978,becoming the first Labor member of what was a traditionally safe Liberal seat,defeating the sitting Liberal member and Shadow Minister for Services,Allan Viney, [3] [4] on a swing of over 14 percent.
During his six years in Parliament,he served on a number of committees including the Public Accounts Committee. He was later appointed as senior policy adviser to the State Premier. He retained his seat at the 1981 election,gaining enough of a swing to technically make Wakehurst a safe Labor seat. However,he lost his seat to Liberal candidate John Booth at the 1984 election. [1] With Booth only winning election on a margin of 1.6%,Wakehurst remained a marginal seat and Webster stood again as the Labor candidate at the 1988 election,but was again unsuccessful on a two-party-preferred result of 57-42% at an election that saw Labor lose power to the Coalition led by Nick Greiner. [5]
Webster was later elected as a Councillor for B Riding (which became A Riding/Ward following the secession of Pittwater Council in 1992) on Warringah Shire Council in September 1991 and later served a single term as Deputy Mayor. He served on the council until 1999 [6] After leaving he returned to work exclusively for his Valuer Practice,T. S. Webster and Associates,which he had founded in 1988,but remains involved in the Dee Why Branch of the ALP. [2] In the lead-up to the 2011 NSW state election,Webster was made a life member of the ALP and tried to mentor local Labor candidates but lamented to the Manly Daily that:"In my 40-year membership of the party I don’t think we have ever been in such dire straits",a comment that was reflected in the subsequent landslide defeat suffered by the party at that election. [7]