Fraser Ellis MP, charged with deceit, argues documents that form backbone of prosecution are protected by parliamentary privilege

Political pressure to find MPs accused of rorting the country members allowance could have scuttled potential fraud prosecutions, a court has heard.

The unwavering focus of members of parliament in revealing whether fellow politicians rorted the Country Members Allowance could have scuttled any attempts to prosecute the alleged fraud, a court has heard.

Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis is facing 23 charges of deceit stemming from his allegedly fraudulent claims of the allowance.

But on Friday the Adelaide Magistrates Court heard that the tabling of thousands of forms linked to the allowance to parliament in 2020 could have shrouded all the potential evidence in parliamentary privilege.

On Friday, Tom Duggan QC, for Ellis, applied for a stay of the prosecution because the forms Mr Ellis had filed out to claim the allowance – and which form the backbone of the prosecution case against him – were protected by parliamentary privilege and not able to be tendered in court.

Mr Duggan took Magistrate Simon Smart to tracts from Hansard from 2020, which showed now then-opposition leader Peter Malinauskas asking the house to release the country member allowance forms.

MP Fraser Ellis is seen outside the Adelaide magistrates court following an earlier appearance on fraud charges. Picture: David Mariuz.

Following a bipartisan motion, then-Speaker Vincent Tarzia released the redacted documents, which became the focus of fiery debate in parliament.

“These documents formed the basis for debate and they were being questioned and scrutinised by parliament,” Mr Duggan said.

“Not only were the documents tabled because they were the business of parliament, there was bipartisan support and it was then questioned by parliament.”

Mr Duggan said his client was under no obligation to hand over any copies of the form or his records because of the privilege against self-incrimination.

Ryan Williams, prosecuting, said the forms were created for an administrative purpose and allowing them to be tendered during the trial would not undermine parliament.

“Parliamentary privilege should not dazzle the court,” he said.

“It’s not a cloak, it’s not a magic wand, you cannot wave the wand of parliamentary privilege so it attracts to these thousands of claim forms so they could not be admissible in any proceedings – that is to misunderstand the scope of the privilege.”

Prosecutor Ryan Williams leaves the Magistrates Court where Fraser Ellis MP is accused of rorting the country members allowance. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Williams argued the original versions of the form – obtained by investigators from Parliament’s finance department – were different from the redacted versions tabled in parliament.

“The mere tabling and the content of the debates does not protect the claim forms for all purposes, including the contents of those documents, namely the representations of the nights spent in Adelaide,” he said.

“ (Mr Duggan) argues that the debate brands the thousands of forms absolutely protected and inadmissable.

“It is about freedom of speech, not freedom from prosecution.”

Mr Smart reserved his decision until August.