Many venal and vile characters have trod the halls of power in Australia. Crikey has scoured the archives to try and identify every politician convicted of a crime since the 1800s.
Ever heard of the minister for justice who murdered a man he believed was his mistress’s lover? Prior to this, he was strongly suspected of having a hand in the untimely deaths of at least two political opponents.
Or what about the MP who killed his de facto wife at a baby’s birthday party, the deputy mayor who shot dead his elderly mother, and the prisons minister who took bribes to let prisoners out of jail early?
These are among the 84 federal, state and local government elected officials Crikey has identified as having committed crimes at some point in their lives.