South Australian MP accused of assaulting his wife returns to state parliament
Another ex-Liberal politician is raising eyebrows as the South Australian parliament returns after an Easter break, with one MP on several assault charges returning to work.
Independent member for MacKillop Nick McBride fronted state parliament on Tuesday, raising eyebrows from Premier Peter Malinauskas.
McBride was arrested during the recess on April 10 and charged with three counts of assaulting his wife, Katherine.
After question time in Parliament, McBride didn't wish to discuss the assault charges.
'I have no comment to make, and the matter is before the courts,' he said.
Premier Peter Malinauskas told media on Tuesday he is not surprised that another Liberal is in court.
'I'm literally starting to lose count of how many Liberal MPs or ex-Liberal MPs have been charged with crimes in this parliament,' he said.
'These are matters of criminality that seem to be coming up every week or second week from either Liberal MPs or ex-Liberal MPs'
Malinauskas was also referring to ex-SA Liberal leader David Speirs, who on Friday was found guilty of supplying cocaine.
Opposition leader Vincent Tarzia said that while the party condemns any acts of domestic violence, McBride is paid to be in parliament.
'He's paid a lot of money by his constituents to be here, so he should front up and face the music,' he said.
'We obviously condemn any alleged act of domestic violence.'
McBride was elected to parliament in 2018 running for the Liberal Party in the Limestone Coast seat of MacKillop.
He left the party in 2023 to sit as an independent.
His great-grandfather Sir Philip McBride was a founding member of the Liberal Party of Australia and Defence Minister in the Menzies government.
The broader McBride family is the 18th largest landholder in Australia with properties covering more than 1.1 million hectares.
McBride has been granted bail and is due in the Naracoorte Magistrates Court on May 7.
7NEWS.com.au understands that McBride's alleged assault case nor bail conditions do not prohibit him from attending parliament as part of his usual duties, with it not breaching the parliament code of conduct.
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