Former South Australian MP Annabel Digance and her husband, Greg, plead not guilty to blackmailing state Labor leader Peter Malinauskas.
A former South Australian Labor MP and her husband have pleaded not guilty to blackmail after failing to have their case thrown out of court.The pair's legal team previously sought to have the case thrown outFormer Elder MP Annabel Digance and her husband, Greg, are accused of blackmailing Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas for political advantage.
Their lawyers had sought to get the case thrown out, arguing the pair had no case to answer because the law excludes negotiations to secure a political benefit. Robert Cameron, representing Ms Digance, told the court the "political advantage" was "being preselected by the ALP for the number one ticket in the Legislative Council or preselection as an ALP candidate for a comparatively safe Labor seat in the state parliament".But Magistrate Simon Smart said from reading the transcript of recordings of their conversations, it appeared to be more "demands", not "negotiations".
After a brief adjournment and an apology from Ms Digance's lawyer, the pair eventually pleaded not guilty.
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