Robert Darcy Coombs is an Australian politician and former Labor Party member of the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Legislative Assembly. Coombs represented the electorate of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

from 2007 to his defeat at the

2011 New South Wales state election Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year-incumbent Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal–National Coalition opposition ...

Career

Coombs joined the Australian Merchant Navy in the 1970s, working for six years on

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

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 The Labor Council of New South Wales, branded Unions NSW, is the peak body for trade unions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Coun ...

. He resigned those roles upon being elected to Parliament. Coombs was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in March 2007 for the electorate of Swansea. Coombs was the Caucus chairman. He was also a member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. At the March 2011 State Election, Coombs was defeated in the seat of Swansea, after suffering in the statewide landslide defeat of the Labor Party. Coombs lost to the Liberals'

Garry Edwards Garry Keith Edwards (born 6 September 1950) is a former Australian politician who represented the electoral district of Swansea in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party from 2011 to 2015. 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.

Personal life

He is married to the current member for Swansea Yasmin Catley, and they have three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, Robert Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 21st-century Australian politicians Year of birth missing (living people)