Bell rings on SA by-election ruling
SA speaker Leon Bignell has made a by-election ruling after a state MP formally resigned from parliament this morning over convictions for theft and dishonesty charges.
Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell today formally resigned from state parliament, choosing not to appear himself and instead emailing the speaker.
But there would be no by-election for the Lower House seat of Mount Gambier, with Speaker Leon Bignell citing the cost of the endeavour and the fact that anyone elected would only serve in parliament for between six and eight days.
Bell resigned after a court dismissed his appeal last week against convictions for stealing $430,000 from not-for-profits meant to assist vulnerable school children. He now faces a possible jail term.
It followed a South Australian District Court jury last September finding Bell guilty of 20 counts of theft and five aggravated counts of dishonest dealings.
Bell confirmed he would be standing down as the member for Mount Gambier outside the court last week.
Bignell told state parliament today that he received an email from Bell this morning confirming his resignation.
You might like
The speaker said he would not exercise his discretion to call a by-election on the advice of the Electoral Commissioner.
“The Electoral Commissioner advised that the earliest dates for the by-election available under the Act would be for the polling day to be held Saturday 4th of October, Saturday 11th of October, the 18th of October or the 25th of October,” Bignell said.
“October 4 and 11th are in the school holidays and October 4 is on a long weekend. If October 18 or 25 were selected, by the time the election was conducted and a result determined, it would be likely the new member for Mount Gambier would serve between six and eight days in this place.”
He said the potential cost for a by-election would be $950,000 – higher than the recent Black by-election “due to travel and accommodation costs associated with a regional by-election and additional staff required to avoid impacting on preparations for the upcoming state election”.
Bell’s current electorate office staff would remain in those roles and “advocate and follow up inquiries for the constituents of Mount Gambier”.
“For those looking for political representation, Mount Gambier is in the enviable position of having two highly regarded and senior members of the Legislative Council representing the Liberal party in Ben Hood and the Labor party in Clare Scriven, who both live in Mount Gambier,” Bignell said.
Stay informed, daily
“The people of Mount Gambier at the 2018 and 2022 election voted for Troy Bell to be their local member of parliament in full knowledge of the charges he was facing and the prospect that the outcome of the court delivered last week was always a possibility.”
Asked this morning whether Mount Gambier residents were being fairly represented without an MP, Premier Peter Malinauskas said: “unfortunately not”.
“The Liberal Party some time ago pre-selected an MP who, yet again, has now been convicted of a crime,” he said.
“That’s really unfortunate for the people of Mount Gambier.
“For us, we just continue to get on with the job.”
Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said it was “outrageous and unprecedented that one of South Australia’s major regional cities will be without an elected representative for more than six months”.
“Labor has neglected regional South Australians with this decision – would this happen in the city?” he said.
In response, Bignell said he “received no representation from the Liberal Party nor Labor Party about the merit or otherwise of a by election”.
“If they had a case to make they had since last Thursday to do so,” he said.
“To say it is unprecedented is also incorrect. They should do their homework before misleading the people of South Australia.”
