Independent MP Fraser Ellis fronts court over alleged Country Members’ Accommodation Allowance rorts

An MP accused of rorting taxpayer funds outed his own dishonesty in the same press release he issued to protest his innocence, a court has heard.

South Australian Independent MP Fraser Ellis outside court. Picture: NCA NewsWire

An independent MP’s “damage control” media release over alleged rorting of taxpayer funds serves as a “partial admission” that he claimed more than $18,000 dishonestly, a court has heard.

On Monday, prosecutors told the Adelaide Magistrates Court they would prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that Narungga MP Fraser Ellis had repeatedly claimed reimbursement for overnight accommodation without staying in Adelaide as required.

Prosecutor Robert Walker noted Mr Ellis has long denied the charges, and that he had repaid $42,130 to the Country Members’ Accommodation Allowance since first being accused.

However, he said those actions did not refute the case against Mr Ellis – instead, they bolstered it.

“In the middle of 2020 there were media reports about questionable claims for the allowance,” Mr Walker said.

“Those reports in the press marked the end of Mr Ellis’ dishonest claims for the allowance and the beginning of his attempts at damage control … he prepared a media release.

“The explanations that he gave in his media release constituted partial admissions that he claimed and received payment, as well as an implied admission that he understood the criteria for eligibility.

“Beyond admitting those matters, our case is that his media release minimised his culpability for claiming the allowance for nights he well knew he was not entitled to it, because he had not stayed in Adelaide.”

Mr Ellis has pleaded not guilty to 23 charges of deceit arising from an ICAC investigation into alleged misuse of the Country Member’s Accommodation Allowance for MPs.

ICAC investigators alleged Mr Ellis had made 78 fraudulent claims of the allowance, totalling more than $18,000.

The path to Mr Ellis’ trial has been long and fraught, with multiple adjournments and legal issues including a failed bid to have crucial evidence covered by parliamentary privilege.

Opening the trial on Monday, Mr Walker said Mr Ellis had issued his media release in July 2020, following news reports about alleged rorting of the allowance.

“In it, Mr Ellis claimed to have acted honestly and to have received the allowance from March 2018,” he said.

“He also claimed to have been unaware of the change of eligibility that was passed in November 2018, requiring actual expenditure before being entitled to the allowance.

“He said, therefore, he believed his claims since November 2018 may not have been fully within the terms set by the Remuneration Tribunal and he made arrangements to repay them.

“In all cases, whether speaking to the public through the media or elsewhere, he has claimed he acted honestly and under the genuine belief he was entitled to claim as he did.”

Mr Walker said Mr Ellis’ “partial admissions” and “implied admissions” proved he understood the allowance’s requirements but had claimed money regardless.

Scott Henchcliffe KC, for Mr Ellis, said the dates upon which his client did and did not sleep overnight in Adelaide would be an issue at trial.

However, he said the situation surrounding his client was not one of dishonesty but of personal error.

“It will become apparent from the evidence that Mr Ellis did make some mistakes in completing the forms (while) claiming the allowance between 2018 and 2020,” he said.

“In some instances, he claimed the allowance for nights he did not, in fact, sleep overnight in Adelaide.

“The evidence will also prove in due course that, on some other occasions, he failed to claim the allowance on nights that he did stay overnight in Adelaide.

“The evidence will show certain inaccuracies or laxity in the forms, but the mistakes go both ways.

“He did not make any of his claims dishonestly or to dishonestly benefit himself, and whether the prosecution can prove to the contrary will be a live issue at trial … we say they will fail to do so.”

The trial, before Magistrate Simon Smart, is listed for five days this month and a further five days in November.