[3] His early career was in corporate sales in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, in banking, and in governance and advisory.
[4] During the 2020 New Zealand general election, first-time candidate Smith contested the Botany electorate for the ACT Party, where he came third.
[6] He had been placed at 11 on the initial ACT Party list but was moved up to 10 after ninth-ranked Stephen Berry withdrew three months before the election.
[17] His expected valedictory statement was cancelled due to illness[18] and his final parliamentary speech was in opposition to the government's Fair News Digital Bargaining Bill.
[19] In that final speech, he defined his political views as "anarcho-capitalist" and promoted self-regulation of the media industry in a free market.