Alex Somlyay
| The Honourable Alex Somlyay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Fairfax | |
|
In office 24 March 1990 – 5 August 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Evan Adermann |
| Succeeded by | Clive Palmer |
| Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government | |
|
In office 1997–1998 | |
| Prime Minister | John Howard |
| Preceded by | Warwick Smith |
| Succeeded by | Ian Macdonald |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 January 1946 Budapest, Hungary |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Jenny |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Australian National University |
Alexander Michael Somlyay (born 18 January 1946), Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1990 to August 2013, representing the Division of Fairfax, Queensland.
Born in Budapest, he came to Australia as a child. He was educated at the Australian National University. Before entering politics he was a public servant, consultant economist and company director.[1]
Somlyay was a member of the informal conservative faction the Lyons Forum when it was active in the 1990s.[2] On 25 September 2010, Somlyay announced his current term in parliament would be his last.[3]
Expenses investigation
An investigation by a Fairfax Media reporter published in the Sydney Morning Herald on January 2014 alleged that Somlyay had used his parliamentary office to pay his wife almost seventy thousand dollars for the year 2012-13 "for non-existent work in his electorate office."[4] The report also alleged that Somlyay had obscured his wife's identity in his list of employed staff.[4] Somlyay defended the payments from his taxpayer-funded budget to his wife, claiming that he had done nothing wrong.[5] On February of the same year, the Herald again reported that the Australian Federal Police had found nothing that "would constitute a criminal offence" related to the employment of his wife and closed the investigation.[6]
References
- ↑ "Biography for Somlyay, the Hon. Alexander Michael". ParlInfo Web. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ↑ "The Lyons Forum". Electronic Frontiers Australia. 1997. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ↑ "Lib speaks for himself,defies gag by Abbott". The Canberra Times. 25 September 2010.
- 1 2 http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/allegations-mps-wife-drew-taxpayerfunded-salary-despite-doing-no-work-20140113-30qwu.html
- ↑ "Former MP Alex Somlyay defends employing wife to work from home as researcher". 15 Jan 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ↑ Swan, Jonathan (21 February 2014). "Police end probe into MP Alex Somlyay's hiring of wife". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Warwick Smith |
Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government 1997–1998 |
Succeeded by Ian Macdonald |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Evan Adermann |
Member for Fairfax 1990–2013 |
Succeeded by Clive Palmer |