6 hours agoMon 29 Dec 2025 at 4:59am

Nick McBride has been the member for MacKillop since 2018. (Supplied: SA Parliament)

In short:

SA independent MP Nick McBride is facing charges including aggravated assault and breach of bail, and will spend the next week in custody.

His lawyers told the court on Monday afternoon the charges would be vigorously defended.

What's next?

The matter was adjourned while a home detention report is undertaken.

South Australian independent MP Nick McBride will spend the next week in custody, after being arrested and charged over the weekend.

Mr McBride is facing charges including aggravated assault and breach of bail.

The 56-year-old appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link from Mount Gambier on Monday afternoon.

Lawyers representing Mr McBride conceded their client would only be eligible for home detention bail.

His lawyers told the court the charges would be vigorously defended.

The matter was adjourned while a home detention report is undertaken and will be back in court on January 6.

Prosecution said further submissions would be made at the next appearance.

Police charged Mr McBride on Sunday, saying they were responding to reports of an assault on Saturday morning.

Nick McBride appeared via video link in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

Mr McBride was elected to parliament in 2018 as the Liberal Party's candidate for the South East seat of MacKillop. 

He was re-elected in 2022 but resigned from the party a year later, citing "dark forces" and factionalism in the party.

His decision to sit as an independent came after years of speculation about his future, sparked by his open criticism of the Marshall government, which included crossing the floor.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher, asked on Monday morning whether it was appropriate for Mr McBride to run again at March’s state election, but said it was a matter for the MP.

"I find it difficult to see facing these issues how you would run a campaign,"

he said.

“But that’s up to an individual to decide what to do.”

On Sunday, Liberal Party leader Ashton Hurn also stopped short of saying Mr McBride should not run for re-election. 

“I don’t think it matters what your political stripes are, the reality is that any allegation on domestic violence is incredibly serious,” she said.

“These allegations are incredibly concerning, and we’ll certainly be watching this as it rolls out throughout the courts.”

Mr McBride is also a grazier and his family's business, AJ & PA McBride, owns farming land across South Australia and Victoria.

The seat of MacKillop covers a large swath of pastoral and forestry land in the state's South East. 

It includes the coastal towns of Robe, Kingston SE and Beachport.