Anthony Charles "Tony" Smith (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of 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 1996 to 1998, representing the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

seat of Dickson. He was elected as a member of 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 ...

, but resigned following controversy over his private life and sat as an independent until his defeat.

Early life

Smith was born on 15 July 1950 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Queensland. He attended

Junction Park State School Junction Park State School is a heritage-listed state school at 50 Waldheim Street, Annerley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1909 to 1910 by the Queensland Department of Public Works and MR Hornibrook. It is also kn ...

and

Salisbury State High School Salisbury is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Salisbury had a population of 6,290 people. Geography Salisbury is by road south of the Brisbane GPO. Toohey Mountain and Toohey Mountain Reserve is ...

, leaving high school at the age of 15 and taking up an apprenticeship as a

fitter and turner A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

with

Evans Deakin and Company Evans Deakin & Company was an Australian engineering company and shipbuilder. In 2019, the company was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in recognition of its major contributions to the Queensland economy for nearly a ce ...

. He later worked at sea as a

marine engineer Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

and as a postman, completing his high school leaving certificate by correspondence while working on a farm. Smith obtained the degree of

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

and practised as a barrister from 1983 until his election to parliament.

Politics

Smith joined the Liberal Party's

Pine Rivers The Shire of Pine Rivers was a Local government in Australia, local government area about north of Brisbane in the Moreton Bay, Queensland, Moreton Bay region of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed as ...

branch in 1974 and served as a delegate to state conference. He was elected to parliament at the 1996 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 and federal government minister

Michael Lavarch Michael Hugh Lavarch AO (born 8 June 1961) is an Australian lawyer, educator and former politician. He was the Attorney-General for Australia between 1993 and 1996, and from 2004 to 2012 was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at Queensland U ...

. On 26 May 1998, Smith resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, stating in a letter to Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

that "you seem unconcerned about the real people out there whose views you find an irritation" and that it was "impossible to properly represent the interests of my constituents as a member of the parliamentary party". He re-contested Dickson at the 1998 election, gaining 9% of the primary vote. His candidacy enabled

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

candidate

Cheryl Kernot Cheryl Zena Kernot (née Paton, formerly Young; born 5 December 1948) is an Australian politician, academic, and political activist. She was a member of the Australian Senate representing Queensland for the Australian Democrats from 1990 to 199 ...

, formerly leader of the Democrats, to win the seat.

Personal life

In October 1997, the '' Australian Financial Review'' reported that Smith had publicly admitted to slapping his wife and was the subject of a domestic violence order (DVO). He was also "recently interviewed by Queensland police when he left a Brisbane brothel just as police were raiding it".

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Dickson Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1950 births Living people Independent members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian barristers University of Queensland alumni {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub