Court told key evidence against charged independent MP Fraser Ellis comes under parliamentary privilege

Key evidence in the deception trial of independent MP Fraser Ellis should be excluded, a court has heard - with prosecutors admitting that would be an “essential issue”.

Key evidence could be excluded in the trial against independent MP Fraser Ellis because it is subject to parliamentary privilege.

Mr Ellis, the member for Narungga, is accused of misusing the country members accommodation allowance scheme and is set to face trial later this year. He denies the allegations.

His defence counsel Sam Joyce told the court on Friday he intended to argue certain evidence was inadmissable because it was tabled in parliament.

“The issue is the forms that have been provided on the basis of my client’s case were tabled in parliament. The forms, on one view, once tabled, are subject to parliamentary privilege,” Mr Joyce said.

Ryan Williams, prosecuting, said if the evidence could not be used it would be an “essential issue”.

“It’s for that reason that we’ve considered the issue of parliamentary privilege at that sort of base level,” he said.

“There’s some authority that parliamentary privilege does not protect against misuse of our parliamentary entitlements.”

Fraser Ellis outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court during an earlier appearance. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

The term parliamentary privilege refers to special legal rights and immunities that apply to each house of the parliament, its committees and members.

On July 21, 2020, country member accommodation allowance claims from 2010 to 2020 were tabled in both houses of state parliament.

Days later, former independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander confirmed he would investigate whether any MPs who have claimed the controversial country member’s allowance over the past 10 years had been rorting the system.

Mr Ellis was eventually charged with 23 counts of deception in February 2021, with the ICAC alleging he had made 78 fraudulent claims for the Country Members Accommodation Allowance totalling more than $18,000.

The former Liberal MP immediately vowed to “vigorously defend” the allegations.

The trial was set for June 14, but on Friday, Mr Williams flagged difficulties with that date because it fell on a parliamentary sitting week.

“Now that the calendar has been released, it does pose considerable difficulties for several witnesses we will require,” he said.

Magistrate Simon Smart relisted the trial for August 29.

He said any application for the exclusion of evidence or other pre-trial issues needed to be submitted within four weeks.

Mr Ellis was excused from appearing on Friday.