South Australia's new Labor government has joined with the Greens to back the return of controversial Liberal figure Terry Stephens to the most powerful position in the state parliament's upper house.
The move came as a surprise diversion from another controversy on the first day of the new Labor-dominated parliament, after the party was elected in March.
Mr Stephens was forced to relinquish the presidency of the Legislative Council in July 2020 amid an investigation by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) into his use of parliamentary allowances.
The investigation was sparked by a series of exclusive ABC articles which questioned the senior Liberal's eligibility to claim the Country Members Accommodation Allowance.
Soon after those stories, the then-Labor opposition referred Mr Stephens to the anti-corruption branch of SA Police, who later referred the matter to ICAC.
The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Ann Vanstone, last year referred a brief of evidence against Mr Stephens to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In February, DPP Martin Hinton revealed he had decided not to prosecute Mr Stephens.
As parliament met this morning for the first time since Labor's win at the March election, Greens MLC Tammy Franks nominated Mr Stephens to return to the now vacant president's chair.
Fellow crossbencher, SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros, nominated six different Labor MLCs for the vacancy, but all refused.
They included Ian Hunter, Tung Ngo, Justin Hanson, Irene Pnevmatikos, former ALP secretary Reggie Martin and Russell Wortley – the last of whom had previously served in the president's role.
With no other nominations, Mr Stephens was elected without an opponent.
"I thank all honourable members for their support," Mr Stephens told parliament.
"I will try and ensure there is respect paid to all and, once again, I thank you for your support."
The president is entitled to a base salary of almost $300,000 and a chauffeur-driven vehicle.
Speaking after his elevation, Mr Stephens told the ABC his nomination came as a surprise.
"Actually, I didn't nominate," he said.
"I'm very pleased to take the role and have the support of the members of the council."
Labor changes tune on Stephens
When in opposition, Labor spoke out strongly against Mr Stephens and his use of the Country Members Accommodation Allowance.
The ABC's articles had questioned whether he lived in the Adelaide suburb of Norwood or the south coast town of Victor Harbor.
"The public must have confidence in the parliament and its parliamentarians," then-shadow attorney-general Kyam Maher said in 2020.
Now in office, Premier Peter Malinauskas said backing Mr Stephens for the presidency made sense.
"We have decided to not take the presidency because we are determined to get our legislative agenda through the parliament," he said.
"Labor has been elected with nine members of the Legislative Council.
"By not taking the presidency, [it] means we've got an extra vote on the floor."
Vickie Chapman sworn in without incident
Around the same time as Mr Stephens was elected as president, Liberal Vickie Chapman was sworn in as the Member for Bragg in the lower house, despite controversy over whether she should attend.
Ms Chapman announced she was resigning from politics on the same day as factional rival David Speirs was elected as the new Opposition Leader.
Ms Chapman wrote to Speaker Dan Cregan about her intention to resign — a gesture he said automatically vacated her seat under the state constitution.
But Ms Chapman disputed that interpretation of the constitution and was sworn in without incident.
She had argued the letter was a notice of intention – not her formal resignation – which she said she would official tender at the end of May.
Her resignation will trigger a by-election in her safe eastern suburbs seat of Bragg.
Holding it sooner rather than later would prevent unsuccessful federal Liberal candidates from running in the by-election.
In the event of a dispute, Ms Chapman's eligibility to continue sitting could be a matter for the now Labor-dominated House of Assembly to determine.
"Let's wait and see what the Speaker does this afternoon," the Premier said after Ms Chapman's swearing-in.
"Obviously, there are still events to unfold; we've just elected a new Speaker … but clearly Vickie Chapman has decided to not embrace the idea of humility and has put the parliament in a very difficult position."
Ms Chapman was suspended from state parliament for six days for deliberately misleading the house last year, a week after she resigned as deputy premier.
She stood aside from her position as attorney-general while the state ombudsman investigated her decision to refuse approval for a port on Kangaroo Island, where she owns land.
