Former premier Steven Marshall faces investigation into allegations of misleading parliament

Former premier Steven Marshall has shut down a probe into allegations he misled parliament.

Former premier Steven Marshall has shut down an investigation into allegations he misled parliament by making a statement to correct the record.

Triggering the privileges investigation on Wednesday, Government Business Manager Tom Koutsantonis quoted Mr Marshall saying on Tuesday in parliament that SA “still does not have a trade office anywhere within the EU borders”.

Mr Koutsantonis then detailed the funding, staffing and opening this year of a trade office in Frankfurt, Germany.

Government Business Manager Tom Koutsantonis in parliament Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

Calling for independent adjudication by Speaker Dan Cregan, Mr Koutsantonis said he believed Mr Marshall had “deliberately and intentionally misled the House of Assembly”.

“South Australia’s trade office is open, was open when the Member for Dunstan (Mr Marshall) made his contribution to parliament yesterday,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“Frankfurt is in Germany and Germany is in the EU. South Australia has an open, active, trade office in the EU.”

Mr Cregan then responded to Mr Koutsantonis by saying he would consider the matter, along with any response from Mr Marshall, and report back to the parliament.

Contacted for comment, Mr Marshall then told The Advertiser: “It’s been brought to my attention that we now have representation in the EU. That is a good thing. Long overdue,” he said.

Mr Marshall supplied a letter to him, sent via email on Tuesday, from Trade and Investment Minister Nick Champion, who echoed Mr Malinauskas’s “sentiments in appreciating your efforts as (a) former premier of (the) state to lure investment into South Australia, and in using your profile and contacts to put South Australia first”.

Mr Champion then respectfully encouraged Mr Marshall to “do so from an informed position”, pointing out the Frankfurt trade office’s opening.

Mr Marshall was not in parliament for Mr Koutsantonis’s statement, made just after 2pm.

Mr Cregan later discharged the matter on the basis of Mr Marshall’s statement correcting the record.

Former South Australian Premier Steven Marshall with Julie Bishop at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. Picture: Instagram

Mr Koutsantonis’s move over what could be considered a trivial matter is the first obvious sign of the Labor government abandoning the respect it had previously afforded to a former premier.

By contrast, Premier Peter Malinauskas in September last year praised Mr Marshall’s “efforts in attempting to lure investment into South Australia”, declaring this “a good use of his profile and contacts as a former premier” and promising to “continue to support his endeavours in the interests of our state”.

An Opposition spokesman said: “This is simply a political stunt from Tom Koutsantonis and a waste of the parliament’s time. Labor should focus its efforts on the cost-of-living crisis facing South Australians or perhaps their promise to ‘fix ramping’.”

Former Liberal deputy premier Vickie Chapman was suspended from state parliament in November, 2021, after an inquiry found she had deliberately misled parliament over her rejection of a proposal to build a $40m seaport on Kangaroo Island.

Originally published as Former premier Steven Marshall faces investigation into allegations of misleading parliament