Watchdog to investigate a decade’s worth of South Australian MP travel claims

A travel rorts scandal that has already snared five country MPs in the SA Liberal government has widened into a full-blown ICAC investigation.

South Australian Transport Minister Stephan Knoll. Picture: AAP

A travel rorts scandal that has already snared five country MPs in the South Australian Liberal government has widened into a full-blown ICAC investigation amid suspicions that more MPs will be implicated.

Liberal sources believe the inquiry has the potential to unleash carnage within the party amid persistent speculation that one MP even may have rented out his rural home while living permanently in the city, meaning he was double-dipping by claiming travel allowance and collecting rent.

Central to the issue is the country MPs’ travel allowance, which historically was treated as a salary top-up for rural members but tightened in 2018 to ensure the nightly $234 allowance is not used as an entitlement but a reimbursement for costs incurred while travelling on parliamentary duties.

It emerged this week that Transport Minister Stephan Knoll had claimed almost $30,000 in the allowance for travelling from his Barossa Valley electorate to the city, where he pays board to stay at his parents’ house.

Both he and his father, Adelaide smallgoods mogul Franz Knoll, refused to reveal this week how much board was being paid, with the Transport Minister facing opposition attacks and public suspicion that he was potentially profiting from the arrangement.

It also emerged on Thursday that Mr Knoll had also claimed the allowance while he was in Adelaide in February to attend a concert by cult DJ Fatboy Slim, for which he also received free tickets.

While Mr Knoll has voluntarily offered to repay the $29,574 in full, other MPs have not been so forthcoming, with one rural MP even saying that while he claimed some money incorrectly, he had also forgotten to lodge other valid claims, and that he hoped the amount was roughly approximate to what he was entitled to claim.

The issue blew up on Thursday afternoon when Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander SC issued a statement that sent shockwaves through rural Liberal ranks, saying he intended to investigate all travel allowance claims going back the past decade.

“Earlier this month I commenced an investigation into the conduct of a number of members of parliament in respect of claims made by them for payment of the Country Members Accommodation Allowance,” Mr Lander said.

“I intend to make further inquiries in respect of all claims for the Country Members Accommodation Allowance by any member of parliament over the last 10 years.”

The involvement of ICAC is a major distraction for Premier Steven Marshall, who has been riding a wave of popularity over his management of the pandemic.

In parliament on Thursday Mr Marshall tried to downplay the travel claims as administrative mistakes rather than deliberate wrongdoing.

But Labor’s Peter Malinauskas demanded the sacking of Mr Knoll and Primary Industries Minister Tim Whetstone, who has repaid $7000 in claims.

“That is the standard that would be applied to any other worker in any other industry,” the Opposition Leader said.