Raymond Douglas "Ray" Barber (born 28 February 1959) is a former Australian politician. He was born in

Waratah Waratah (''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania). The best-known species in this genus is ''Telopea speci ...

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 ...

to Graham Douglas Barber, a building surveyor for local government, and Fae Aileen, ''née'' Edmonds, a high school deputy principal. He attended primary school at Orange East, Undercliffe and

West Pennant Hills West Pennant Hills is a suburb in the Hills District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. West Pennant Hills is located 20 km north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Horn ...

, and then Pennant Hills High School. The family moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in 1973, where Barber attended

Nambour State High School Nambour State College is a co-educational, state high school located in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. Established on 2 February 1953. In 2006 the school had enrolment figures of 1,367, including adult students. Previously it was called the Na ...

before studying for a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(1980) and

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(1983) at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. From 1983 he was a partner in Dobbyn & Partners, a law firm at

Coolum Beach Coolum Beach is a beachside town and coastal suburb in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Coolum Beach had a population of 8,497 people. Geography Coolum Beach has the following mountains (from north to ...

. He was also a founding member of Sunshine Coast Community Legal Service, and was involved in the local surfing community as honorary solicitor of the Sunshine branch of the Surf Lifesaving Association, treasurer of Coolum Boardriders, and a founding member of Coolum Christian Surfers. A member of the Labor Party, Barber was elected to the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

in 1989 as the member for Cooroora. The seat was abolished in 1992, and Barber ran instead for the new seat of

Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was ...

, but was defeated. In March 1993 he married Nikki Parkinson, a reporter and publicist. At the 2012 state election, he was the unsuccessful Labor candidate for the safe Liberal National seat of

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber de ...

References

1959 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly {{Australia-Labor-Queensland-MP-stub