SA Ombudsman finds Liberal MP Stephan Knoll committed misconduct over Adelaide Cemeteries Authority board decision

The Premier is “reviewing” a report that found the former transport minister committed misconduct over his dealings with the Cemeteries Authority board.

Liberal MP Stephan Knoll has been hit with a shock misconduct finding over his attempts to sack three directors of a major board.

Ombudsman Wayne Lines has finally published his report on allegations surrounding Mr Knoll, after the former minister spent nearly a year fighting its release.

Premier Steven Marshall is “reviewing” the report, which found Mr Knoll committed misconduct in public office when he attempted to boot three directors off the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority board in 2019.

Mr Lines found he tried to sack the board members without having any authority to do so, breaching the ICAC Act and committing “misconduct in public administration”.

Mr Knoll, however, did not commit maladministration.

Mr Knoll spent nearly a year trying to overturn the Ombudsman’s findings and stop the report’s public release, engaging top silk Thomas Duggan QC and eminent law firm Minter Ellison.

It was finally released early on Friday morning after the culmination of court proceedings.

The allegations stem from a letter Mr Knoll sent to the chair and first and second directors of the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority that incorrectly stated he had the power to terminate their positions.

Under the Cemeteries Act, only the Governor has the power to remove board members, on recommendations from the Planning Minister.

After realising he had made an error, Mr Knoll began a process to properly remove the board members, who were then sacked by the Governor on August 2, 2019.

The Ombudsman also investigated allegations Mr Knoll inappropriately pressured board members to resign prior to sending the letter and that he selected the new directors based on a prior personal relationship. But he found Mr Knoll did not commit misconduct or maladministration in relation to those allegations.

Former SA Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Stephan Knoll. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

In relation to the misconduct in public administration offence, Mr Lines noted the former Minister acted quickly to ensure the “error was appropriately corrected or clarified as soon as possible”.

In a statement sent to The Advertiser, Mr Knoll said he acted “swiftly and appropriately once the administrative error was identified”.

“A minor procedural mistake was made and I fixed it straight away,” he said.

“This decision sets the bar so low that almost any inadvertent Ministerial error with no adverse consequences could be seen as misconduct.

“I stand by my decision to appoint a new skills-based board that has now been in place for more than 18 months and have been proven to be excellent and successful appointments.”

No recommendations were made, but Mr Lines provided a copy of his report to Premier Steven Marshall so he can consider “any further action”.

A government spokesman said Mr Marshall was “reviewing the Ombudsman’s report which contains no recommendations for the government”.

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas slammed the government over the incident, saying it was “just the latest blow for Steven Marshall and his government”.

“Steven Marshall has seen multiple ministers resign in disgrace amid the MPs expenses scandal, as well as the resignations of the Legislative Council president and Government Whip,” he said.

“Steven Marshall has had two Liberal MPs move to the crossbench – one facing an assault charge and another facing charges of deception.

“And right now, one of Steven Marshall’s ministers is under investigation for bullying the leader of the state’s peak sporting organisation.”

Furthermore, Mr Malinauskas noted one minister was found by a Royal Commission to have acted contrary to SA’s interests in relation to the River Murray.

“With so much scandal, you have to ask what kind of government is Steven Marshall leading?” he said.

Opposition government accountability spokesman Tom Koutsantonis called on Mr Knoll to “apologise immediately”.

“How much has this whole affair cost taxpayers? Steven Marshall should reveal whether Stephan Knoll had legal indemnity from the Crown,” he said.

Mr Koutsantonis said Mr Marshall also needed to “outline what penalty he will impose on Stephan Knoll”.

Mr Knoll sought a judicial review of the finding of misconduct in public office as well as a decision to publish the Ombudsman’s findings publicly.

Last year the case came before Justice Chris Bleby under the anonymised G v Wayne Lines.

At that time The Advertiser and the ABC in a joint application asked the court to relax strict confidentiality and suppressions surrounding the case.

In a judgment published on January 28, Justice Bleby dismissed the combined application saying the protection of Mr Knoll’s reputation was an integral part of the review process.

Justice Bleby then recused himself from the case which continued before a different Supreme Court justice.

The case was listed for hearing earlier this week before Justice Judy Hughes but was administratively pulled from the list.

Mr Knoll will retire from politics at next year’s election.

He resigned from Cabinet in July last year after becoming embroiled in a travel rorts scandal.

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