Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Geoffrey Francis Smith (born 16 May 1950) is a retired officer of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

. After retiring from a 37-year naval career, Smith was appointed CEO of

Sydney Ferries Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport a ...

until his dismissal over allegations of misuse of his corporate credit card. Investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 2009, Smith was found by the commission to have engaged in corrupt conduct. The case was referred to the Department of Public Prosecutions, and he was jailed for up to two years after pleading guilty before the

District Court of New South Wales The District Court of New South Wales is the intermediate court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a trial court and has an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court preside over a rang ...

to one charge of cheating or defrauding Sydney Ferries.

Naval career

Smith was born in Sydney in 1950, and entered the

Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...

in 1968. From January 1995 to July 1996, he was the commanding officer of the guided missile destroyer . In 1996, he became Director-General of Naval Policy and Warfare, and in 1997, Commandant of the ADF Warfare Centre at

RAAF Base Williamtown RAAF Base Williamtown is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located north of the coastal city of Newcastle ( by road) in the local government area of Port Stephens, in New South Wales, Australia. The base serves as the h ...

. In 1999, he was Commander of Northern Command, and later that year became

Deputy Chief of Navy The Deputy Chief of Navy (DCN) is the second most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Navy, responsible to the Chief of Navy (CN). The rank associated with the position is rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer ...

. From July 2000 to July 2002, Smith served as Maritime Commander Australia. Smith retired from the navy in 2002, with the rank of rear admiral.

Sydney Ferries

After leaving the navy, Smith worked as a consultant for Nautilus Underwater Systems, and then worked for

Australian Defence Industries Thales Australia (formerly Australian Defence Industries and ADI Limited) is a defence contractor based in Australia. It is a subsidiary of the French defence technology conglomerate Thales Group. Thales Australia had been engaged in numerous pr ...

(ADI Limited). After nine months at ADI, his corporate

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

credit card was cancelled after he incurred a $28,000 debt. On 21 August 2006, Smith was appointed as chief executive officer of

. Between September 2006 and March 2009, Smith charged over $237,000 of personal expenses to his corporate credit card. Despite an annual salary of $320,000, Smith found himself in financial difficulties, with a substantial mortgage on a home in northern Sydney and medical expenses following his wife's illness and hospitalisation. Between December 2006 and June 2008, Smith reimbursed Sydney Ferries $135,598 for personal expenditure but made no further reimbursements, leaving an outstanding debt of $102,000. Furthermore, in October 2008 Smith had signed a letter to the Minister for Transport, David Campbell, assuring the minister that corporate card use within the organisation was in full compliance with government policy that cards only be used for official business. On 18 March 2009, Smith's conduct came to the attention of

John Lee John Lee may refer to: Academia * John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society * John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal * John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...

, Director-General of the Department of Premier & Cabinet, who stood him aside immediately. On 27 May, Minister Campbell announced that Smith's employment had been terminated. The case was referred for investigation to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which made findings of corrupt conduct by Smith and referred him to the Department of Public Prosecutions. From February 2011, Smith worked as a casual employee at a local

Bunnings Warehouse Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

, whilst waiting for his case to be heard. In July 2011, he filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, at that stage owing over $410,000 to banks, landlords and phone companies. In August 2014, Smith pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating or defrauding Sydney Ferries. Prior to sentencing, District Court judge Michael Finnane cited Smith's "exemplary good character" in his naval career, saying it was "a tragedy that such a distinguished man should find himself facing sentence for fraud offences". He was sentenced to a minimum of eighteen months and a maximum of two years in prison.

Honours

*In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, Smith was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the military division for exceptional service to the Australian Defence Force, particularly as commanding officer of HMAS ''Perth''. *In the 2002 Australia Day Honours, Smith was upgraded to Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). *On 27 March 2015, the Governor-General terminated Smith's appointment to the Order of Australia.Geoffrey Smith, Sydney Ferries boss, stripped of gong
sbs.com.au; accessed 13 September 2016.

References

External links

Royal Australian Navy Biography: Rear Admiral Geoffrey Francis Smith
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Geoffrey 1950 births Australian chief executives Australian fraudsters Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Commanders Australian Fleet Deputy Chiefs of Navy (Australia) Former Officers of the Order of Australia Living people People from Sydney Royal Australian Navy admirals