Police refer Terry Stephens allowance claim complaint to ICAC
The legitimacy of Upper House President Terry Stephens’ claim to a taxpayer-funded allowance has been referred by police to SA’s anti-corruption watchdog.
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Police have referred a complaint questioning the legitimacy of Upper House President Terry Stephens’ claim to a taxpayer-funded allowance to the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens today confirmed the SA Police anti-corruption branch had referred a complaint about Mr Stephens’ entitlement to the Country Members’ Allowance to the ICAC.
“We did receive correspondence and that has been referred to the independent Commissioner Against Corruption,” he said.
“It’s based on an assessment that’s done by our … (anti-corruption branch) in consultation with the ICAC and we’ve referred that.”
It came after the Opposition on Tuesday lodged a complaint about Mr Stephens’ claim to the allowance after questions were raised about his eligibility.
Allegations surfaced earlier in the week that Mr Stephens publicly claimed to live at Victor Harbor but spent a significant amount of time at his Norwood property.
Under parliamentary rules, country members are eligible to receive a taxpayer-funded allowance for travelling to and from Adelaide for parliamentary and other official duties if the member’s usual place of residence and at least part of their electorate is more than 75km by road from the GPO.
Those who meet this requirement are able to claim $234 for each night they stay in the city, up to a maximum of $31,590 per year.
Documents released by Parliament this week showed Mr Stephens has received $60,534 during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years.
Allowance claim forms dating back to 2010 are expected to be released in the coming weeks in response to calls for transparency.
Mr Stephens has consistently denied any wrongdoing and reaffirmed this stance when contacted by The Advertiser.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Kyam Maher declined to comment.
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