John Sharp

Who is John Sharp?

John Randall Sharp, Australian politician, is a former National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Divisions of Gilmore and Hume in New South Wales.

He became Minister for Transport and Regional Development when the Coalition government under John Howard took office after the 1996 federal election.

Sharp resigned from the ministry on 24 September 1997 after becoming involved in a scandal over misuse of parliamentary travel allowances. The "Travel Rorts Affair" – which also claimed the ministerial careers of Peter McGauran and David Jull – unfolded when an audit of parliamentary expense claims revealed that a number of MPs had fraudulently or inadvertently submitted incorrect travel claims. He retired from Parliament on 31 August 1998, prior to the 1998 election.

After retiring from politics, Sharp founded a transport consultancy company, and became deputy chairman of Regional Express Airlines.