Robert Coombs
Encyclopedia
Robert Darcy Coombs is an Australian
politician and former Australian Labor Party
member of the New South Wales
Legislative Assembly
. Coombs represented the electorate of Swansea
from 2007 to his defeat at the New South Wales state election, 2011
.
Coombs is the son of Max and Clare Coombs and has one brother (Darryl) and two sisters (Loretta and Merylin). He attended Swansea High School.
Coombs joined the Australian Merchant Navy in the 1970s (six years) working on BHP vessels sailing out of Newcastle. He joined the Maritime Union of Australia, and eventually rose to become the Sydney Branch Secretary of the Union, then its National President. He also became an Executive Member of Unions NSW. He resigned those roles upon being elected to Parliament.
Coombs supports the role of education for the Australian Aboriginal community, and continues to be the chairperson of Tranby Aboriginal College.
Coombs was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in March 2007 for the electorate of Swansea.
Coombs is the Caucus chairman. He is also a member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.
He is married to the former Yasmin Catley, and they have three daughters.
At the March 2011 State Election
, Coombs was defeated in the seat of Swansea, after suffering in the state-wide landslide defeat of the Labor Party. Coombs lost to the Liberal's Garry Edwards
after just one term in parliament, becoming the first Labor member to be defeated by any other political party in Swansea.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
politician and former Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member of the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
. Coombs represented the electorate of Swansea
Electoral district of Swansea
Swansea is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Hunter Region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It was represented by Milton Orkopoulos of the Australian Labor Party until his arrest in 2006 on allegations of child sex and drugs offences. It is now represented by Garry...
from 2007 to his defeat at the New South Wales state election, 2011
New South Wales state election, 2011
Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...
.
Coombs is the son of Max and Clare Coombs and has one brother (Darryl) and two sisters (Loretta and Merylin). He attended Swansea High School.
Coombs joined the Australian Merchant Navy in the 1970s (six years) working on BHP vessels sailing out of Newcastle. He joined the Maritime Union of Australia, and eventually rose to become the Sydney Branch Secretary of the Union, then its National President. He also became an Executive Member of Unions NSW. He resigned those roles upon being elected to Parliament.
Coombs supports the role of education for the Australian Aboriginal community, and continues to be the chairperson of Tranby Aboriginal College.
Coombs was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in March 2007 for the electorate of Swansea.
Coombs is the Caucus chairman. He is also a member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.
He is married to the former Yasmin Catley, and they have three daughters.
At the March 2011 State Election
New South Wales state election, 2011
Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...
, Coombs was defeated in the seat of Swansea, after suffering in the state-wide landslide defeat of the Labor Party. Coombs lost to the Liberal's Garry Edwards
Garry Edwards
Garry Keith Edwards MP is an Australian politician representing the electoral district of Swansea in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party of Australia since the 2011 New South Wales state election.-Early career and background:...
after just one term in parliament, becoming the first Labor member to be defeated by any other political party in Swansea.