Luke Smith | |
---|---|
Mayor of Logan City | |
In office 13 March 2016 –2 May 2019 | |
Deputy | Cherie Dalley |
Preceded by | Pam Parker |
Succeeded by | Darren Power |
Logan City Councillor for Division 6 | |
In office 27 March 2008 –13 March 2016 | |
Succeeded by | Stacey McIntosh |
Logan City Councillor for Division 5 | |
In office 16 March 2006 –27 March 2008 | |
Succeeded by | Graham Able |
Personal details | |
Nationality | Australian |
Political party | Independent |
Other political affiliations | Liberal National Party |
Luke Smith is a former Australian politician and convicted criminal,who served as the mayor of the City of Logan, [1] [2] the seventh most populous local government area in Australia. [3] From 2006 until 2016,he was the Divisional Councillor for Logan City Council's Division 6. [4]
Elected as an independent in 2016,Smith ran as the Liberal National Party candidate for the Logan-based federal division of Rankin in 2010. [5]
On 26 March 2018,Smith was arrested and charged by the Crime and Corruption Commission. [6] The charges include two counts of perjury relating to testimony given to the Commission in 2017,one count of official corruption in his capacity as Mayor of the City of Logan,and one count of failing to properly update his register of interests. [7] The corruption charges related to Smith's relationship with a property developer who,in addition to donating to Smith's election campaign fund,allegedly provided an illegal contribution to progress the development approval of a Springwood hotel. [8]
10 councillors attended a confidential meeting days after Smith's arrest,in which 8 out 10 agreed to formally ask him to stand aside. Acting Deputy Mayor Trevina Schwarz confirmed the "vast majority" of councillors decided to "make a formal request to the Mayor to stand aside for a period of three months pending the proceedings." [9]
On 14 April 2019,Smith and 7 other Logan City councillors were charged with fraud by the Crime and Corruption Commission,which alleged they conspired together to terminate the employment of the council's chief executive officer following reports she was privately assisting a corruption investigation. She was formally terminated by council four months after giving information to the state corruption watchdog about alleged possible misconduct by Smith. [10] [11]
While on bail pending the resolution of corruption charges,on 1 May 2019 Smith was further charged with a number of offences including middle-range drink driving,driving without due care and attention,and breaching his bail conditions after an alleged motor vehicle accident. Police held Smith in custody following the alleged incident. [12] [13]
In March 2023,Smith pleaded guilty in the Queensland District Court to receiving a secret commission,failing to update his register of interests,and misconduct relating to public office. [14] His Honour Justice David Kent KC gave Smith an 18-month sentence,wholly suspended,along with 120 hours of community service. Judge Kent described the offending as betraying the public's confidence and a serious breach of responsibilities as a public official. The suspended sentence was due to in part to the impact that the offending purportedly already had on Smith's life and in part due to the guilty plea. [15]
The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted in the resignation of Queensland's premier,Joh Bjelke-Petersen,the calling of two by-elections,and the jailing of three former ministers and the Police Commissioner Terry Lewis. It also contributed to the end of the National Party of Australia's 32-year run as the governing political party in Queensland.
The City of Logan is a local government area (LGA) located in the south of Greater Brisbane in South East Queensland (SEQ),Australia. Situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and the City of Gold Coast to the south,the City of Logan also borders the Scenic Rim Region,the City of Ipswich,and Redland City LGAs. Logan is divided into 70 suburbs and 12 divisions;a councillor is elected to each of the latter. The council had a population of 326,615 as of June 2018.
Gordon Richard Nuttall is an Australian former politician who represented Sandgate in the Queensland Parliament from 1992 to 2006. He was a member of the Labor Party and served as a minister in the Beattie Ministry from 2001 to 2005. In 2009 he was found guilty of corruptly receiving secret commissions during his time in office and jailed for seven years. In 2010,he was found guilty of five charges of official corruption and five charges of perjury and,ultimately,jailed for an additional seven years,the longest jail term for corruption handed to a Commonwealth politician. He was released on parole in July 2015.
The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast,Queensland,Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774,it is the second most populous local government area in the State of Queensland. Its council maintains a staff of over 2,500. It was established in 1948,but has existed in its present form since 2008. It is on the border with New South Wales with the Tweed Shire to the south in New South Wales.
Karyn Lesley Paluzzano is a former Australian politician. She was a Labor Party Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2003 to 2010,representing the electorate of Penrith. In September 2012 Paluzzano was sentenced to twelve months' home detention following a guilty plea for falsely claiming parliamentary allowances,as well as giving false and misleading evidence to an anti-corruption inquiry.
The City of Ipswich is a local government area (LGA) located within the southwest of Greater Brisbane,which in turn,is situated within the vast South East region of the state of Queensland. Positioned between the City of Brisbane and the City of Logan to the east and the Scenic Rim Region to the south,the City of Ipswich also borders the Somerset and Lockyer Valley regions to the north and west,respectively. Ipswich is generally taken to include the urban area encompassing the historical city of Ipswich and the surrounding rural areas. By the 2021 census,the City of Ipswich,as a local government area,had a population of 229,208 people.
The Fraser Coast Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland,Australia,about 250 kilometres (160 mi) north of Brisbane,the state capital. It is centred on the twin cities of Hervey Bay and Maryborough and also contains K'gari. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Cities of Maryborough and Hervey Bay and the Shires of Woocoo and most of Tiaro. The resident population at the 2021 census was 111,032 and the estimated population in 2023 was 117,940.
Lisa-Michelle Scaffidi is a former Lord Mayor of Perth,Western Australia. The first female Lord Mayor of Perth,Scaffidi became mayor following the October 2007 council elections,after the retirement of her predecessor,Peter Nattrass,who served a record twelve years in the position. Scaffidi and the rest of the City of Perth council were suspended on 2 March 2018,while the state government investigated the council's operations.
Jennifer Lorraine Hill AM is an Australian former politician who served as mayor of Townsville from 2012 until 2024. which is the 18th largest local government area in Australia. She was elected to the position during the Queensland Local Government elections held on 28 April 2012. Prior to serving as mayor,Hill was a city councillor and previously held the position of Deputy Mayor under the previous pre-amalgamation Townsville City Council in the Labor administration of Tony Mooney between 2007 and 2008.
Thomas Richard Tate is a Laotian-born Australian businessman,property investor and politician who is the current mayor of the City of Gold Coast.
Tiahleigh Alyssa Rose Palmer was a 12-year-old Australian girl who lived in Logan City,Queensland. She was murdered on 30 October 2015. Her remains were found six days later and her foster father,Rick Thorburn,was charged with her murder on 20 September 2016. Thorburn pleaded guilty to the murder before the Supreme Court of Queensland on 25 May 2018.
Civil Liberties &Motorists Party,formerly the Motorists Party;Civil Liberties,Consumer Rights,No-Tolls;Consumer Rights &No-Tolls Party;No-Tolls.org;No Tolls,No Sell Offs;and Consumer Rights &No-Tolls is a Queensland-based political party. It has been registered in Queensland since 2015.
Salim Mehajer is an Australian convicted criminal,property developer and former deputy mayor of Auburn City Council. In March 2018,Mehajer was declared bankrupt and in April 2018 was found guilty of electoral fraud,and sentenced to 21 months in prison with a non-parole period of 11 months. In April 2021,he was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months for lying to court. In May 2023,he was sentenced to seven years and nine months for domestic violence and fraud offences,with a non-parole period of three-and-a-half years. He will be first eligible for parole in July 2025.
Paul Pisasale is a former mayor of the City of Ipswich in Queensland,Australia,and convicted extortionist. Pisasale was mayor of Ipswich from 2004 to 2017,making him one of Queensland's longest-serving mayors,and was last elected in 2016 with 83.45% of the popular vote. He resigned as mayor in 2017 following a raid on his office by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission. He was subsequently charged with corruption in 2017. He was committed to stand trial on a number of other charges in 2019,including charges of sexual assault where he was accused of "unlawfully and indecently" assaulting an Ipswich woman,and charges of perjury. Pisasale subsequently pleaded guilty to these charges which included two counts of sexual assault,official corruption,unlawful drug possession,27 counts of fraud,secret commission by an agent,and fraud of property.
Darren Ross Power is an Australian politician who served as the mayor of the City of Logan from 2020 to 2024. Prior to his election as mayor,Power served as Logan City Councillor for Division 10 from 1997 to 2019,and as Advocate for the City of Logan from 2019 to 2020.
Leslie Alexander Walker is an Australian politician who served as the member for Mundingburra in the Queensland Legislative Assembly for one term from 2020 until his defeat at the 2024 state election. He served as a Townsville City councillor from 2004,and was Deputy Mayor of Townsville from 2016 to 2020.
Ryan Donald Bayldon-Lumsden is an Australian former politician who served as a member of the Gold Coast City Council from 2020 until 2024. He was suspended from council on 15 September 2023 after being charged with the murder of his stepfather.
The 2024 Gold Coast City Council election was held on 16 March 2024 to elect a mayor and 14 councillors to the City of Gold Coast. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.
The 2020 Queensland mayoral elections was held on 28 March 2020 to elect the mayors of the 77 local government areas in Queensland,Australia. The elections were held as part of the statewide local elections.
The 2020 Ipswich City Council election was held on 28 March 2020 to elect a mayor and eight councillors to the City of Ipswich. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.