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List of Australian politicians convicted of crimes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of Australian politicians convicted of crimes.

Federal

[edit]
Name Year Party Offence Timing of conviction Sentence Reference
William Henry Groom 1846 Protectionist Stealing[a] Before office Transportation to Australia [1]
Charles Kingston 1892 Protectionist Duelling[b] Before office Good behaviour bond [2]
John Curtin 1914 Labor Failing to comply with a compulsory medical examination for conscription[c] Before office 3 days' jail [3]
Donald Grant 1916 Labor Conspiracy to commit arson, perverting the course of justice, incitement to commit sedition Before office 15 years' jail[d] [4]
Benjamin Benny 1926 Nationalist Fraudulent conversion of trust funds After office 3 years' jail [5]
George Rankin 1938 Country Drink driving During office Fined £25 [6]
Thomas Ley 1947 Nationalist Murder[e] After office Death, later commuted to confinement in Broadmoor Asylum [7]
Jock Garden 1948 Labor Forgery After office 3 years' jail [8]
Wilson Tuckey 1967 Liberal Assault[f] Before office Fined $50 [9]
Derryn Hinch[g] 1987, 2011, 2014 Justice Contempt of court, breaching suppression orders Before office 12 days in prison, 5 months' home detention, 50 days in prison [10]
Colin Hollis 1990 Labor Indecent exposure During office Good behaviour bond [11]
Frank Ford 1996 Liberal Fraud After office [12]
Michael Cobb 1998 National Rorting travel expenses During office Fined $14,000; 2 year suspended jail term [13]
Bob Woods 1999 Liberal Rorting travel expenses After office 18 month suspended jail sentence [14]
Andrew Theophanous 2002 Labor Bribery and fraud After office 6 years' jail[h] [15]
Craig Thomson 2014 Labor
Independent
Theft After office $25,000 fine[i][17] [17]
Steve Irons 2015 Liberal Unlicensed drink driving During office 4 month good behaviour order [18]

New South Wales

[edit]
Name Year Party Offence Sentence Notes Reference
Peter Howe 1891 Protectionist Conspiracy to defraud the Australian Mercantile Loan and Guarantee Company Imprisoned for 7 years, released after 3 years and 7 months. One of a series of prosecutions in relation to bank failures. Resigned from the Legislative Assembly after conviction [19][20]
Frank Smith 1892 Free Trade conspiracy to fraudulently misrepresent the financial affairs of the Australian Mercantile Loan and Guarantee Company Imprisoned for 7 years, released after 3 years. One of a series of prosecutions in relation to bank failures, had been defeated in 1891. [21][22]
Francis Abigail 1892 Free Trade Conspiracy to issue a false balance-sheet Imprisoned for 5 years, released after 2 years and 6 months. One of a series of prosecutions in relation to bank failures, had been defeated in 1891. [20][23]
Thomas Slattery 1905 Protectionist Stealing £6,958 Imprisoned for 3 years and 6 months, set aside by High Court Seat in Legislative Council declared vacant after conviction but before the successful appeal to the High Court. [24]
Alan Millard 1906 Liberal Reform Misappropriation of £5 of a client's money 6 months, suspended on 12 month good behaviour bond Seat in Legislative Assembly was declared vacant [24]
Theodore Trautwein 1940 Independent False representation to avoid bankruptcy Imprisoned for 12 months Seat in Legislative Council declared vacant by the Court of Disputed Returns. Subsequently imprisoned for contempt of court. [24]
Thomas Ley (also served in Federal Parliament) 1947 Nationalist Murder Death, later commuted to confinement in Broadmoor Asylum Involvement with a number of disappearances, including that of Frederick McDonald, his predecessor as MP [7]
Rex Jackson 1987 Labor Accepting bribes 10 years Former Minister for Corrective Services. Increased from 7½ years on appeal [25]
Tony Packard 1993 Liberal Unlawful use of listening devices Fined $1000 Offences were committed while operating a used-car business, prior to entering parliament [26]
Barry Morris 1996 Liberal Making death threats 1 year Decreased from 2½ years on appeal [27]
Phuong Ngo 2001 Independent
Labor
Murder Life imprisonment Convicted of ordering the killing of Australian MP John Newman on 5 September 1994, a crime which has been described as Australia's first political assassination. [28][29][30][31]
Milton Orkopoulos 2008 Labor 33 counts, including child sex and drug offences 13 years and 8 months (non-parole period 9 years) Decreased from 13 years and 11 months on appeal [32]
Richard Face 2009 Labor Making a false statement to the ICAC Fined $2,500, three-year good-behaviour bond Lied about misusing parliamentary and electoral office staff to help set up a consultancy. [33][34]
Karyn Paluzzano 2012 Labor Falsely claiming parliamentary payments Twelve months' home detention [35][36]
Adam Marshall 2014 National Mid-range prescribed content of alcohol Driver's licence suspended for nine months, fined $2,000 Returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.112. [37][38]
Eddie Obeid 2016 Labor Misconduct in public office 5 years (non-parole period of 3 years) Failing to declare his precuniary interest while a member of parliament and subsequent attempts to influence bureaucrats and Labor colleagues so as to benefit his family [39][40][41][42][43]
Ian Macdonald 2017 Labor Wilful misconduct in public office 10 years (non-parole period 7 years) set aside on appeal Conviction set aside on appeal and re-trial ordered [44][45]
Eddie Obeid 2021 Labor Conspiracy to wilfully commit misconduct in public office Eddie Obeid, Moses Obeid and Ian Macdonald conspired for Macdonald to commit misconduct concerning the granting of a coal exploration licence involving the Mount Penny tenement [46][47]
Ian Macdonald

Queensland

[edit]
Name Year Party Offence Sentence Notes Reference
William Hamilton 1891 Labor conspiracy in connection with the Queensland shearers' strike 3 years future state MP [48]
Brian Austin 1990 National misappropriating public funds 15 months [49]
Leisha Harvey 1990 National misappropriating public funds 12 months 7 months served in home detention [49]
Don Lane 1990 National misappropriating public funds 12 months [49]
Geoff Muntz 1990 National misappropriating public funds 12 months [49]
Keith Wright 1993 Labor child sex offences 8 years (non-parole period 4 years), paroled after 5½ years Former Opposition Leader [50]
Bill D'Arcy 2000 Labor child sex offences 11 years (non-parole period 7 years) [51]
John Budd 2002 Labor fraud and misappropriation 2½ years (suspended) [52]
Merri Rose 2005 Labor extortion 1½ years [50]
Karen Struthers 2007 Labor Drink driving $1,000 fine and loss of licence for 10 months [53]
Gordon Nuttall 2009, 2011 Labor Corruption, receiving secret commissions, theft 15 years (non-parole period 10 years) [54]
Scott Driscoll 2013 Liberal National 42 counts of contempt of Parliament, four counts of failing to register interests and one count of misleading the House fined $84,000 for contempt;

fined $4,000 for failing to register interests; fined $2,000 for misleading the House; and the Legislative Assembly moved to expel Driscoll from the chamber and declare the seat of Redcliffe vacant "to protect the honour and dignity of the Legislative Authority".

[55]
Paul Pisasale 2019 Labor
Independent
2 counts of extortion. In 2020 he pleaded guilty to 30 other charges including Fraud, Sexual Assault and Official Corruption 7.5 years (non-parole period 3 years) Former Mayor of Ipswich

Tasmania

[edit]
Name Year Party Offence Sentence Notes Reference
John McDonald 1951 Labor Manslaughter 10 years' jail [56]
Brenton Best 2002 Labor Drink driving fine and loss of licence [57]
Terry Martin 2011 Independent Producing child pornography and sexual penetration of a child under the age of 17 suspended sentence [58]

South Australia

[edit]
Name Year Party Offence Sentence Notes Reference
John Richards 1882 Twice convicted of cheque fraud Imprisonment for 1 months and imprisonment for 3 months [59][60]
Beasley Kearney 1933 Labor Fraud Imprisonment for 3 years [61]
Tammy Franks 2012 Greens South Australia Tax Fraud (10 charges of failing to lodge tax returns) Fined $6600 and ordered her to pay $7,500 court costs [62]
Bernard Finnigan 2015 Labor
Independent
Obtaining access to child pornography A 15-month suspended sentence with a three-year $1,000 good behaviour bond Also added to the sex offender register [63][64][65]

Victoria

[edit]
Name Year Party Offence Sentence Notes Reference
Carolyn Hirsh 2004 Labor Drink driving $600 fine and driving ban of 6 months [66]
Andrew Olexander 2004 Liberal Drink driving $500 fine and loss of licence for 12 months [66]
Carolyn Hirsh 2006 Labor Drink driving and driving while disqualified $600 fine and driving ban of 1 year [67]
Adem Somyurek 2009 Labor Driving while disqualified One-month suspended jail sentence and $300 fine [68]
Tim Smith 2021 Liberal Drink driving $750 fine and 1 year license suspension [69]
Russell Northe 2023 National Misconduct in public office 21-month jail sentence [70]

Western Australia

[edit]
Name Year Party Offence Sentence Notes Ref
Julian Stuart 1891 Labor conspiracy in connection with the Queensland shearers' strike 3 years future state MP [71]
George Taylor 1891 Labor conspiracy in connection with the Queensland shearers' strike 3 years future state MP [72]
John Marquis Hopkins 1910 Ministerial Forging and uttering a promissory note 5 years sitting state MP [73]
Frederick Baglin 1923 Labor stealing as a servant 3 years sitting state MP [74]
Bill Grayden 1978 Liberal assault and wilful damage sitting state MP [75]
Brian Burke 1994 Labor fraud two years former state premier, guilty of four counts of defrauding the state by making false claims on the parliamentary imprest account, paroled after seven months [76]
Ray O'Connor 1995 Liberal stealing a Bond Corporation cheque 18 months former state premier, paroled after six months [77][78]
David Parker 1996 Labor perjury 18 months former state deputy premier, paroled after six months [79]
Brian Burke 1997 Labor stealing $122,585 in campaign donations from the Labor Party 3 years former state premier, conviction quashed after six months in jail [80]
Wayde Smith 1998 Liberal perjury 18 months paroled after six months [81][82]
Graham Burkett 2006 Labor receiving bribes 14 months former mayor of Stirling and state MP [83]
Ben Dawkins 2023 Labor Breaching a violence restraining order Yet to be sentenced sitting state MP, expelled from the Labor Party [84][85]
James Hayward 2023 National Party charged with child sex offences. Yet to be sentenced sitting state MP, [86]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Only former transported convict to be elected to federal parliament.
  2. ^ In relation to an attempt to duel Richard Chaffey Baker, also a future federal MP.
  3. ^ Later became prime minister of Australia; first prime minister to be convicted of an offence
  4. ^ Part of the Sydney Twelve. Served four years before conviction overturned.
  5. ^ Involvement with a number of disappearances, including that of Frederick McDonald, his predecessor as MP
  6. ^ After being convicted of assaulting an Aboriginal man, he was nicknamed "Iron Bar"
  7. ^ Hinch was a radio announcer at the times of his crimes, and was elected to the Australian Senate in 2016
  8. ^ Served two years and successfully appealed the fraud charge.
  9. ^ Reduced from 12 months' jail with 9 months suspended on appeal, 49 charges of fraud dismissed.[16]

References

[edit]
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