A South Australian crossbench party has hit out at the behaviour of Liberal and Labor MPs in the state's upper house, describing their actions as an "embarrassing blight on parliament".
After Liberal and Labor members traded bullying allegations in a late-night sitting on Wednesday, SA-BEST's Frank Pangallo said their conduct would make voters cringe in disbelief.
"Those responsible for the mud-slinging match last night should be disgusted and ashamed with their behaviour," Mr Pangallo said.
"What we saw last night was worse than schoolyard behaviour."
Mr Pangallo's comments followed claims under parliamentary privilege from Treasurer Rob Lucas, who is retiring at the March state election, that some Labor staffers were hesitant to co-operate with police investigations into child sexual exploitation.
Mr Lucas said Labor party members and staffers were apparently fearful of reprisals and also did not want to harm Labor's chance of winning government.
Labor hit back with allegations of improper behaviour by a Liberal MP in the latest of a series of bullying allegations involving members of both the major parties, some dating back five years.
Mr Pangallo said the debate had "sunk to new depths" and might be an indication of what was to come during the election campaign.
"The sort of venom and behaviour we saw last night only lends to that cynicism and dislike of politicians," he said.
"Those responsible for last night's conduct are only denigrating the role of politicians and the role of parliament generally.
"As we go into the election campaign, I implore both the premier and the opposition leader to work to restore the confidence in their elected members."
