Magistrates Court dismisses MP Fraser Ellis’ bid to prevent trial for deceit charges

An MP facing almost two dozen charges of rorting a travel allowance has lost a last-ditch effort to have all the evidence against him thrown out of court.

The trial of MP Fraser Ellis on almost two dozen deceit charges will go ahead after a magistrate rejected his application to have all the evidence against him thrown out under parliamentary privilege.

Mr Ellis is charged with 23 counts of deceive another to benefit himself stemming from alleged rorts of the Country Members allowance.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge and is scheduled to stand trial later this month.

However, ahead of the trial Mr Ellis’ legal team launched an application to have large swathes of evidence against the Member for Narungga ruled inadmissable.

MP Fraser Ellis outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court in 2021 ahead of an earlier appearance for deceit charges. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

During a hearing in June, Tom Duggan QC, for Mr Ellis, argued that by forcing the tabling of thousands of records relating to the Country Members Allowance, the then-opposition had inadvertently rendered all the documents inadmissable.

Mr Duggan said the documents were not only tabled, but they were also the subject of debate on the floor of parliament and scrutiny by MPs and the media alike.

Ryan Williams, prosecuting, told Magistrate Simon Smart the documents were administrative in origin and should not fall under an all encompassing privilege.

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

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

On Wednesday, Mr Smart refused the application – sending Mr Ellis to trial.

However, there is a shadow hanging over the scheduled trial as Mr Ellis’ legal team contemplate an appeal, which could send the matter to the Supreme Court.

Mr Ellis did not comment outside court.

The decision also affects the pending allegations against Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell, who is also facing charges of deceit linked to the Country Members allowance.

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