Blackmail charges against ex-Labor MP Annabel Digance and husband Gregory dropped

Charges a former Labor MP and her husband blackmailed Premier Peter Malinauskas have been dropped in a court twist – prompting a relieved Premier to respond.

Annabel and Greg Digance outside of the District Court after the charges were dropped Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Blackmail charges against former politician Annabel Digance and her husband, relating to alleged conduct toward Premier Peter Malinauskas, have been dropped in an 11th-hour development.

Late on Friday, the District Court permitted The Advertiser to attend a closed-court hearing ahead of Annabel and Greg Digance’s trial, scheduled for next month.

Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC told the court he was prepared to withdraw all charges against the couple provided they consented to seven draft orders relating to their future conduct.

The nature of those orders was not revealed in court, but The Advertiser understands they prevent the couple from any form of contact with Mr Malinauskas and his family.

Any breach of the extensive orders could result in terms of imprisonment for the Digances and they can only be lifted if the Digances apply to the court after 12 months.

The dramatic decision comes just days after the second anniversary of the couple’s arrest in April 2021.

Annabel Digance speaks to media outside court during an earlier appearance. Picture: Supplied

After the hearing, Mr Malinauskas said he was “relieved’’ the matter had now been resolved.

“All I have ever wanted from the beginning of this was for Greg Digance to leave me alone,’’ he said.

“I am satisfied that the orders achieve that objective and I welcome it.

“It allows me to focus on the job. None of this has been something I wanted or sought clearly and the fact there is a resolution to it ensures I will not be contacted again.

“It is something I am grateful for.’’

Outside court, Ms Digance said the couple had always maintained their innocence of the allegations.

“This charge has now been withdrawn,” she said.

“The resolution reached today is one which will allow us to move forward with our lives and put an end to this prosecution.

“We thank all our family and friends both here in Australia and abroad who provided their continued support over the past two horrendous years.

“We thank you the media for your interest. We thank our legal team for their support and expertise.

“We thank the many hundreds and hundreds of people who sent us messages of encouragement and support throughout this experience.

Premier Peter Malinauskas. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

“We will not be making any further comment at this time.”

The Digances were arrested at their Adelaide Hills home in April 2021 and charged with blackmailing Mr Malinauskas, who was Opposition Leader at the time.

The arrests – which rocked South Australian politics – followed a lengthy covert investigation – believed to be the first of its type in Australian politics.

After being arrested by detectives at their Strathalbyn home, the couple were formally charged and were bailed in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.

In subsequent hearings, prosecutors alleged the Digances sought to blackmail Mr Malinauskas to secure Ms Digance’s return to politics.

The couple, however, claimed Mr Malinauskas illegally recorded conversations between them to silence a parliamentary committee into bullying allegations she had raised.

Their bid to have Mr Malinauskas and another senior Labor figure called to give evidence, ahead of their pleas being entered, was unsuccessful.

In December of 2021 Ms Digance and her husband both pleaded not guilty and were ordered to stand trial by jury for blackmail – after initially refusing to enter pleas to the charges.

Their trial was scheduled to start on May 8 and run for two weeks.

On Friday, counsel for the Digances said their clients had read the orders drafted by Mr Hinton, understood them and would abide by them.

Judge Paul Muscat said he wanted to be certain, and called on each of the Digances to stand in turn.

“Counsel has told me that they have spoken to you about the terms of these orders,” he said.

“Have you read them, are you aware of each of the seven orders and the consequences of breaching them?”

Greg and Annabel Digance outside Adelaide Magistrates Court in December 2021. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Digance replied: “Yes I have, and I am fully aware, Your Honour.”

Ms Digance said: “Yes, Your Honour.”

Judge Muscat then formalised the orders, after which Mr Hinton withdrew the charges.

After the hearing, Mr Malinauskas said the case “had not been a fun process’’ and had been out of his hands since it entered the criminal justice system.

“I have complied with all of the requests made of me,’’ he said.

“I want to focus on the things I have on my plate, I welcome the fact I will not have to think about this again.’’

He said the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had raised the likelihood of such an order with him recently and he had consented.

“They did that with me no differently than with any other victim,’’ he said.

“I made it pretty clear to them throughout this, as I did to the police when I reported it, what I wanted in all of this.

“I simply just wanted to be left alone and they have helped deliver that.

“I made it clear I was more than happy to participate in a trial if that’s what eventuated, but I also said I would welcome this outcome if that is what eventuates.’’

Mr Malinauskas said taking this course of action was not an option once he reported the matter to police at the time of the alleged contact because he was a public officer.

“I had no choice but to report it,’’ he said.

“I did so knowing that would take matters entirely out of my hands. That is what I had a duty to do, it wasn’t up to me at that point.

“Once a certain sequence of events occurred I had a statutory obligation and an ethical obligation to report it to the appropriate authority and they would form their own view about the appropriate course of action.

“The moment I made that report I knew it was out of my hands and everything since then has not been my decision.’’

Originally published as Blackmail charges against ex-Labor MP Annabel Digance and husband Gregory dropped