Frank Allen Ford (born 10 August 1936) is a former Australian businessman and politician. He represented the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1990 to 1993, representing the Victorian seat of Dunkley. In 1996 he was convicted of fraud relating to the liquidation of his engineering firm.

Early life

Ford was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

on 10 August 1936. He was the managing director of a

rollover protection structure A rollover protection structure or rollover protection system (ROPS) ( or ) is a system or structure intended to protect equipment operators and motorists from injuries caused by vehicle overturns or rollovers. Like rollcages and rollbars in ca ...

(ROPS) engineering firm, Safety ROPS (Aust) Pty Ltd. He served on the Victorian council of the Australian Small Business Association, including as state president for a period.

Politics

Ford was elected to parliament at the 1990 federal election, defeating the incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

(ALP) member Bob Chynoweth in the Division of Dunkley. He was identified as a member of the "New Right" faction and had earlier stood for Liberal

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in the

Division of Goldstein The Division of Goldstein is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1984, when the former Division of Balaclava was abolished. It is located in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne, including Beaumaris, Bentleigh ...

against the incumbent MP

Ian Macphee Ian Malcolm Macphee AO (born 13 July 1938) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 1974 until 1990. He is best known for his contributions in developing Australian multiculturalism and for bei ...

. In parliament, Ford served on the Joint Statutory Committee on Corporations and Securities and the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. His predecessor Bob Chynoweth reclaimed Dunkley for the ALP at the 1993 election.

ASC conflict and fraud conviction

In November 1993, Ford was charged by the Australian Securities Commission (ASC) with 29 counts of false accounting, three counts of "failing to act honestly as a director", one count of "transferring company property with intent to defraud", and one count of "making a material omission in a report". The charges related to allegations that he had engaged in bottom of the harbour tax avoidance by liquidating Safety ROPS (Aust) Pty Ltd and transferring its assets to Roll-Over Protection (Aust) Pty Ltd. He was convicted of fraud in 1996. Ford had earlier come into conflict with the ASC during its investigation. In December 1992, he used parliamentary privilege to describe an ASC visit to his company's office as a "terrorist attack", also referring to an ASC senior investigator as a "jack-booted thug" and comparing the organisation to the

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and

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. He further alleged that the ASC had leaked details of his company finances to political opponents and ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'', and that the investigation into his company was a retaliation for his actions on a Senate committee into the ASC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Frank Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Dunkley Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1936 births Living people Australian politicians convicted of fraud 20th-century Australian politicians Australian corporate directors