Matthew John "Matt" Smith (born 18 March 1978) is an Australian Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 politician who served in the Tasmanian House of Assembly

Tasmanian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...

 from 1998 to 2002.

Smith was elected to the Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

n House of Assembly in 1998 as a member for the seat of Franklin

Division of Franklin (state)

The Electoral Division of Franklin is one of the five electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The division is named after Sir John Franklin, the arctic explorer who was Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land 1837-43...

. He became the youngest member of any parliament in Australia upon election in 1998.

Smith stepped down shortly before the 2002 election after his father was charged with stealing from his employer and a court was told some of the money may have been used to fund his campaign. His father was later acquitted of all charges.