House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Members Members Member for Mount Gambier, Resignation Member for Mount Gambier, Resignation The Speaker House of Assembly Mawson The SPEAKER (11:01): I have today received an email from Mr Troy Bell resigning his seat in the House of Assembly as the member for Mount Gambier. Pursuant to the power invested in the Speaker to issue a writ when a vacancy occurs in the House of Assembly, and consistent with past practice of former Speakers, I exercise my discretion to not issue a writ prior to the general election. In reaching this decision, I sought advice and had discussions with the South Australian Electoral Commissioner and the Clerk of the House of Assembly. 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 on Saturday 4 October, Saturday 11 October, Saturday 18 October or Saturday 25 October. October 4 and 11 are in the school holidays and 4 October is on a long weekend. If 18 or 25 October 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 for between six and eight days in this place. The potential cost of a Mount Gambier by-election would be approximately $950,000. This is a higher cost 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. The staff in the Mount Gambier electorate office who have been in place since March 2014 will remain in those roles until the declaration of the poll next March. As everyone in this place knows, electorate office staff carry a large amount of the burden for members and will continue to advocate and follow up inquiries for the constituents of Mount Gambier with government departments, ministers, local government and the private sector. 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 the Hon. Ben Hood and the Labor Party in the Hon. Clare Scriven. People have that option if they want to contact Clare or Ben, who both live in Mount Gambier. The people of Mount Gambier at the 2018 and 2022 elections 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. I would like to thank the Electoral Commissioner and the Clerk and staff of the House of Assembly for their assistance in reaching this decision.