Barry Urban was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly representing Darling Range from March 2017 until his resignation in May 2018.
22 Facts About Barry Urban
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In May 2018, the parliament's procedures and privileges committee recommended Barry Urban be expelled from the assembly after it found he had misled the house on five occasions.
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Barry Urban resigned immediately after the tabling of the committee's report, and his seat was lost to the Liberal Party in the subsequent by-election.
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Barry Urban was charged by Western Australian police with twelve counts of forgery, attempted fraud and false evidence in September 2018, for which he was sentenced to three years in jail.
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Barry Urban died after allegedly being punched in the head following an argument.
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Barry Urban was born in Ashington, Northumberland, England, and joined the British Army after leaving school.
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Barry Urban claimed to have served in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Namibia and, in 1989, joined the police.
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Barry Urban claimed to have worked as a detective, and later as a war crimes investigator in Bosnia.
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Barry Urban relocated to Western Australia around 2000 and worked in the construction industry until joining Western Australian police in 2005.
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Barry Urban was working for South West Metro Youth Justice services, as a Youth Justice Officer before he was elected to the Parliament of Western Australia.
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Barry Urban first contested Darling Range for Labor at the 2013 state election, but was heavily defeated by incumbent Tony Simpson, winning only 34.7 percent of the two-party vote.
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Barry Urban was the first Labor member ever to win Darling Range; for most of its existence it had been considered to be a safe Liberal seat.
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In November 2017, Barry Urban was asked to explain why he wore an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal to commemoration services, despite not having served overseas for an Australian police force.
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Barry Urban claimed that he was awarded a medal by British police for his work as a war crimes investigator in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the late 1990s, but that he had somehow been sent the wrong medal by authorities in the UK.
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On 29 November 2017, Barry Urban announced his resignation from the Labor Party.
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The committee found Barry Urban had committed a "gross and aggravated contempt of parliament" and had misled the house on five occasions.
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Minutes after the report was tabled, Barry Urban resigned rather than face all-but-certain expulsion.
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On 21 September 2018, Barry Urban was arrested by Western Australian police major fraud squad and charged with twelve offences, including forgery and attempted fraud over applications he made to Western Australian police, and five false evidence charges relating to information given to the parliamentary committee.
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Barry Urban was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail in November 2021.
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Barry Urban was released from jail after serving 18 months.
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In January 2022, Barry Urban was fined $20,000 and asked to pay $1,900 in costs for illegally dumping thousands of tyres at two properties in Armadale between January and July 2020.
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Barry Urban died at Royal Perth Hospital on 15 February 2025 due to a severe brain injury, three months after he was allegedly punched in the head outside his workplace in Kelmscott following an argument.