Marion mayor Kris Hanna pleads guilty to publishing election material containing an inaccurate statement
An Adelaide mayor has pleaded guilty to publishing election material containing an inaccurate statement, and has hired a high-profile lawyer to defend him.
Marion mayor and former state MP Kris Hanna has pleaded guilty to publishing election material containing an inaccurate statement.
Mr Hanna, 58, was represented by former Labor deputy premier John Rau SC during an appearance in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday.
He pleaded guilty through his lawyer to the charge, which relates to his mayoral campaign ahead of the November 2018 Local Government elections.
Holly Nikoloff, for the Electoral Commission of South Australia, said there were objections to some of the material that was handed to the court by defence.
“There’s what appears to be a pamphlet of some kind that’s been provided that says ‘can you trust Kris Hanna?’,” she said.
“There’s what appears to be a Facebook entry relating to that by Nick Westwood Councillor.
“An objection on the grounds of relevance and on the grounds that there’s no supporting material about who created this material, where it was published.”
Magistrate Ben Sale said he needed time to consider the material before he could deal with the matter, and set a date in October.
Outside court, Mr Hanna, of Marion, said he would not comment until the case was finalised.
“I really do want to tell you the full story once it’s all been dealt with,” he said.
“I’m going to say a lot more about the matter after the court case is finished.”
A City of Marion spokesman also declined to comment on the case.
“This was an electoral matter and, as such, the City of Marion has no comment to make,” he said.
Mr Hanna spent 13 years as a state MP for the former southern suburbs seat of Mitchell before he moved into local government.
He was first elected to parliament as a member of the Labor Party, then joined the Greens and eventually sat as an independent.
He unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for Nick Xenophon’s SA Best party at the March 2018 State election, before he was re-elected as Marion mayor in November of that year.
Last year, another Marion councillor, Luke Hutchinson, pleaded guilty to publishing election material without including a name or address.
The charge related to pamphlets that contained allegations about two other councillors seeking re-election.
He was convicted and fined $200 on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
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