[1] He then attended the Australian National University (ANU), where he received a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in political science.
[2] At 24 Yabsley was a Liberal party candidate at the 1980 federal election for the seat of Fraser in the Australian Capital Territory, though was defeated by Ken Fry.
In 1984, Yabsley defeated Labor MP Fred Miller to win the NSW state seat of Bligh in Sydney for the Liberal Party.
The death of Ray Aston, the Liberal member for Vaucluse, allowed Yabsley to re-enter parliament; he was elected unopposed in the by-election.
[7] Yabsley expressed outrage that an anti-apartheid activist, who was imprisoned for one-month for altering a piece of graffiti, was released after one week in prison.
The fact the election promises were still not implemented by 1990 caused "irreconcilable differences" between him and the union, who held a vote of no confidence in him later that year.
[6] The coalition retained power at the 1991 New South Wales state election, though Yabsley was removed from his position as Minister for Corrective Services;[13] according to Police Studies, the government deliberately transferred him to a portfolio where "he could do less harm".