Condolence motions
Barry Urban
12 November 2025 • Parliament of Western Australia
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Mr Roger Cook (Kwinana—Premier) (12:01 pm) without notice: I move:
That this house expresses its sincere condolences at the death of Barry Urban, a former member of the Legislative Assembly for the former electorate of Darling Range, and places on record its acknowledgement of his public service and extends deep condolences to his friends and family in their bereavement.
I begin by paying my respects to his loved ones, who are in the Speaker's gallery today. Barry Urban was born in December 1968 in a coalmining village called Ashington in Northumberland. His father was a coalminer and his mother was an auxiliary nurse in a local mental health facility. He moved to Western Australia in 1999 for a fresh start. After a stint in construction, he served as a police officer before working in youth justice. Before he won the seat of Darling Range in 2017, he also served as a councillor at the Shire of Serpentine–Jarrahdale.
Much has been written about Barry Urban, and much has been said about Barry Urban in this chamber. He made some very bad and very public mistakes. The nature of those mistakes has been extensively covered, and I do not wish to go over them in this condolence motion. What I will say is he paid for those mistakes and, no matter his past issues, he never deserved the brutally violent fate he met in his workplace in February. My heart goes out to his family and friends, like his son, Jack, former wife, Jennie, and former mother-in-law, Rosemary, who, as I said, are in the gallery today.
You cannot always define people by their faults. Anyone who ever interacted with Barry will know the troubles he had were so at odds with his demeanour as a person. He was a very jovial, likeable guy and very kind and very polite. He always wanted to have a chat and would listen closely to what you had to say. He genuinely cared for the community. It is this sense of care that formed a theme among the messages of grief shared after his passing: the memories of him coaching the local junior soccer team, his mentoring and friendship and his support for his community and charities. In the words of former Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale president Michelle Rich:
"The man I knew had a genuine will to help people; to improve the lives of others …
He gave freely of his time to many community groups and always supported the everyday people—our community members. He achieved many important outcomes for Jarrahdale, the community he loved, and the wider SJ community. That will bring positive benefits for years to come without many even realising Barry's input.
He was not perfect; he did not profess to be. It is devastating to lose anyone in this way and much harder when it is a friend. For all his faults, the election promises that Barry Urban made to the people of Darling Range in 2017 were delivered, like the Metronet Denny Avenue level crossing removal, building the Armadale Road bridge and keeping Armadale Police Station open 24 hours, just to name a few.
I remember Barry Urban as someone who at their core had good intentions and was motivated not by malice but by a desire to contribute and be recognised. At his core, he was a kind and gentle soul who wanted the best for those around him.
I reflect on his heritage, his father, a coalminer, and his mother, someone who worked in mental health. I think Barry had empathy and understanding of the issues that face working people but also the issues in mental health. As the Minister for Mental Health at the time, I would often have conversations with Barry about his concerns for that sector. I remember him with great fondness as someone who brought life and light to this place.
We can all draw lessons from his life. May he rest in peace.
Ms Libby Mettam (Vasse—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:05 pm): Today I rise on behalf of the opposition to contribute to the condolence motion moved by the Premier. Today, Barry Urban should be remembered for contributing to the Western Australian community as a construction project manager, a police officer and a youth justice officer and as a local government councillor for six years before winning the key seat of, and serving as the local member for, Darling Range in this Parliament.
Barry Urban was born in Britain in 1968 in the village of Ashington in Northumberland, the son of a coalminer and a nursing aide. From this tough environment with its limited opportunities, he followed his elder brother into the British Army in 1985 and from 1989 served as a police officer.
Certainly, in his first speech in the Legislative Assembly, he emphasised the need to protect the health and wellbeing of police officers, especially when they suffer from medical and psychological trauma also impacting on their families. Having migrated to Western Australia in 1999, Barry Urban and his family settled in Jarrahdale, where they became active members of the Jarrahdale Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade and where Barry served as chair of the Jarrahdale Community Association.
In 2011, Barry was elected to the Shire of Serpentine–Jarrahdale for a two-year term, representing the large south ward that covers all communities south of Byford. He was to serve on both the Mundijong and Serpentine Community Associations, the latter as chair of the board of the shire's community resource centre, and was president of the Armadale Junior Soccer Club. In 2013, he was re-elected unopposed for a further four-year term on the shire council.
From 2013, he was a youth justice officer, working in the southern metropolitan area and the Peel region, dealing with the major social problem of young offenders influenced by easily available drugs, family breakdowns and family substance abuse and the resulting and associated poverty. In his first speech, he paid tribute to those not-for-profit organisations seeking to reintegrate these young people into society.
At the 2013 election, Barry Urban contested the seat for the district of Darling Range for the Australian Labor Party. The electorate covering the south-eastern corner of the metropolitan area from 1989 to 2008 had been previously named Roleystone and Serpentine–Jarrahdale before being reconstituted as Darling Range, a name previously associated with the Kalamunda-based district. With the expansion of Byford, it was a diverse and growing electorate. In 2013, Tony Simpson was re-elected with a majority of 7,113 votes and a large swing of 8.3%, with Barry Urban polling 34.7% after preferences. He was not deterred from recontesting this politically volatile seat in 2017, when he achieved the fourth highest swing to Labor in that election, winning Darling Range by 3,076 votes, with 55.8% of the final vote and a swing of 18.9%. He had worked hard to play his part in the 2017 victory of the Australian Labor Party.
The events unfolding from November 2017 form part of our parliamentary history and need not be canvassed in remembering Barry Urban's contribution to his local community and to youth justice and as a determined and ultimately successful candidate for Parliament. Barry Urban's efforts to rebuild his life were cut short by his premature death. We express our sorrow at the tragic circumstances of his passing, an event currently before our courts and subject to the administration of justice. We can simply hope that justice and closure will take their course. We express our deepest condolences to his family, noting that his son, Jack, with his former wife, Jennie Mudford, and her mother, Rosemary Swaving, are with us today.
Rest in peace, Barry Urban.
Mr Terry Healy (Southern River) (12:11 pm): I rise to contribute to the condolence motion for Barry Urban, the former member for Darling Range. I acknowledge Jennie and his son, Jack, and Jennie's mother, Rosemary.
I will start by saying that no member of the Legislative Assembly comes into this place without faults, but I will speak today of the times when Barry Urban was a kind man to me and an incredibly kind man to others, and that will be the focus of my contribution. I always found Barry to be probably one of the kindest and friendliest people, even when he did not have to be. I am going to choose an example today of when I did wrong by Barry and he was actually beautiful in his response to me. All those who have met Barry know of his warmth, friendliness and kindness. At the 2013 election, I was a volunteer for Barry and I set up one of his booths. Piara Waters, which was in the electorate of Jandakot and is now in Oakford, was in the Darling Range electorate back then. The night before the election, I set up the booth quite substantially with a lot of posters and I slept there to guard it, as I used to, in my swag on the footpath. Barry woke me at about 4:00 am and had food and coffee for me. I said thanks and off I went. I came back later that day to help, and it turned out that the booth was set up in completely the wrong spot on the wrong side of the school! Barry never mentioned that to me that morning, even though I knew at that moment that he would have been so frustrated with the extra work he would have had to do. A few years later, I asked him about it and he said that he was just so honoured to have all the people around to help him—and I know how important his family were to him as well. He was a beautiful man and always a kind man.
My condolences again to Jack and Jennie, Rosemary and his family. Thank you for sharing such a kind man with all of us.
Mr Hugh Jones (Darling Range) (12:13 pm): I rise to contribute to the condolence motion for Barry Urban and thank the previous speakers for their kind words. I acknowledge Barry's son, Jack Urban, Barry's former wife, Jennie Mudford, and Jennie's mum, Rosemary Swaving, seated in the Speaker's gallery today.
I first met Barry in 2007. I was in the Royal Australian Navy and working with Barry's wife, Jennie. I was aware that the family enjoyed the outdoor life, often going away for camping weekends in their four-wheel drive. After Jennie stopped working with me, I bumped into Barry a few times and became aware that he had joined the Labor Party, so I started to see him mainly around election time and during campaign activities. I always thought Barry was a happy-go-lucky guy, upbeat and optimistic and he never said a bad word about anyone. I also saw Barry on the force every now and then. I was aware that he was a police officer who served from 2005 to 2013 with the Western Australia Police Force and later as a juvenile justice officer.
Barry was very involved in his local community and in 2011 was elected to the south ward of the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale for a two-year term, and in 2013 was again elected, this time unopposed. I understand that Barry was a driving force behind the shire securing land for the Kiernan Park Recreation and Sporting Precinct, on which I am glad to see some progress is finally being made. Barry put his hand up to run for the seat of Darling Range in 2013, a time when Colin Barnett and the Liberal Party were in ascendency. It had always been a conservative seat, and it is fair to say that Barry ran an under-resourced campaign. I think Jennie would agree with that. I think they financed it themselves. He secured only 34.7% of the two-candidate preferred vote against the incumbent, Hon Tony Simpson. I think Terry Healy had a part to play in that.
Then, again, before the 2017 election, he nominated to run for Darling Range. Colin Barnett's popularity was waning and the upbeat and optimistic Baz wanted to have another go. With slightly more support in what was still considered an unwinnable seat, he pulled off a miracle, defeating the well-known incumbent Tony Simpson with a two-candidate preferred vote of 55.8%. I was at the election party at the Armadale football club that evening with Hon Dr Tony Buti to see Barry victorious. He had pulled off an unlikely win through hard work and determination, and he was the first Labor member to represent the area. He had cracked the nut.
Of course, Barry's service in this place has been well documented within Hansard, in the media and in the court of public opinion, but the reason we are here today is to acknowledge Barry's role as the member for Darling Range for a period of just under 14 months, but he was so much more than that to the people who knew him personally and his life should not be defined so narrowly.
The CEO of Epilepsy WA, Emma Buitendag, surprised me when she spoke fondly of Barry as I had not realised that she knew him, nor that he had been a great advocate and that he had spoken about the organisation in his inaugural speech only a month or two into his time here. He is also fondly remembered by those in his community who knew him and it was heartwarming to see so many people at the memorial event at the Jarrahdale Tavern on 28 March 2025 and to hear them speak with such emotion and love. It was also great to be joined by Hon Dr Tony Buti, Hon David Templeman and former shire president Michelle Rich to pay our respects.
I want to read out a message I received from Philomena, a lady known to both Barry and me who every time I used to see her, would sing Barry's praises:
Good morning, Hugh
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for taking the time to speak with me as well as your incredibly kind offer to say a few words about our dear friend, Barry Urban.
I would like to begin with a short story of when I first met Barry, plus another lovely memory that I hold dear.
Approximately 16 years ago I first met Barry when he was working with the WA Police Force. Barry attended a callout to my home when I was a victim of crime.
During these early days I can't express enough how fortunate I feel to have had such a wonderful and caring person enter my life at such a volatile time. I shall never forget Barry's kindness and professional manner that never faulted.
When Barry first campaigned as MLA for Darling Range, I was fortunate to assist as part of his team and must say that I still treasure the shirt that Barry gave me, despite not winning.
I did have the honor of joining his team for a second time and was elated for Barry when he won for the Darling Range area.
Needless to say, we remained good friends for many years.
Barry, it was such a pleasure to know you.
You will be missed, but rest assured, never forgotten.
Sincerely
Philomena Coules
Finally, I give a reminder that Barry was more than a member of Parliament, as we all are in this place. He was a loving family man who loved soccer; camping; motorbikes; his dogs; his wife, Jennie; and, of course, his son, Jack. Jack, you should be very proud of your dad. He loved you more than anything.
Rest in peace, Barry.
The Speaker: I request all members to rise for one minute's silence in order to carry the motion.
Question passed; members and officers standing as a mark of respect.
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Terry HealyALP WAMember for Southern River