Kenneth Maurice Smith is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician who is currently the member for Bass

Electoral district of Bass

The Electoral district of Bass is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is covers a diverse range of terrority, from outer suburban Pakenham to the rural towns of Lang Lang and Nar Nar Goon to the coastal tourist centres of Phillip Island and Inverloch. It is named after...

 in the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 and Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria....

.

Smith was a plumber

Plumber

A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...

 before he entered the Parliament of Victoria

Parliament of Victoria

The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of The Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria; the Legislative Council ; and the Legislative Assembly...

 in 1988, winning the Legislative Council

Victorian Legislative Council

The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...

 seat of South-Eastern Province for the Liberal Party

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...

. During his time in the Legislative Council, Smith served on the backbench, although after being returned at the 1996 election he served as government Whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

. When the Kennett government

Jeff Kennett

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...

 lost power in 1999, Smith continued on as Opposition whip.

The redistribution prior to the 2002 election abolished his upper house province, and Smith decided to contest the new seat Lower House seat of Bass, and challenge independent candidate Susan Davies

Susan Davies

Susan Margaret Davies is a former Australian politician.She was born in Mirboo North, Victoria, to parents Richard Llewellyn and Jean Margaret Davies . She attended Leongatha High School and Watsonia High School in 1971, when she completed her Higher School Certificate...

. While the election was a disaster for the Liberal Party, Smith provided them with their only gain, winning the seat after Davies was unable to finish ahead of the Labor candidate

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 and win on their preferences.

Smith served as Shadow Minister for Gaming and Shadow Minister for Fisheries.

In 2008 Smith put forward a private member's bill

Private Member's Bill

A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...

 that would allow euthanasia in Victoria. The bill was similar to the Dying With Dignity Act in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

in the United States, and generated considerable controversy. The bill was defeated in the Victorian Legislative Council.

In 2009, Smith was unopposed for preselection for the seat of Bass and was re-endorsed by the Liberal Party as their candidate.

On December 21st 2010, Smith was elected unopposed as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for the 57th Victorian Parliament.