INDEPENDENT MP Troy Bell says he is offering stability in state parliament despite turmoil last week which resulted in the Liberal Government losing two major votes with Mr Bell’s support.
The Mount Gambier based member of parliament currently sits on the crossbench with five other MPs who hold the balance of power in the minority government.
Last week, with the support of Labor, five independents, including Mr Bell, replaced Liberal appointed speaker, Josh Teague, with Adelaide Hills MP Dan Cregan.
Mr Cregan recently quit the Liberal Party and joined the crossbench as an independent.
In the same week, Labor, with the support of the crossbench, including Mr Bell, managed to pass a motion to investigate the conduct of Attorney General Vicki Chapman – much to the displeasure of the premier Steven Marshall.
Mr Bell said influence on the government by the crossbench members has increased since Mr Cregan resigned from the Liberal Party.
Mr Bell said while the government is “more into minority” he believes there needs to be stability.
“We still need stability in these uncertain times,” Mr Bell said.
“I’ve committed to provide stability leading up to the March election.
“We still are in a pandemic – we have a lot of issues going on that involve directives on people’s lives
“Verbally I have told the Liberal Party that I won’t be playing political games which other people may want to do but also I want to be very firm that if there’s legislation or issues that I think need to be addressed I will raise them.”
Mr Bell gave the example of the struggle some Mount Gambier locals experience when attempting to return home from interstate.
“There are nine to ten families who are trying to get back to Mount Gambier who have waited well over 30 days. This is causing heartache for the families and a number of them are relocating for work purposes,” said Mr Bell.
“This is not an acceptable timeframe.
“I have raised this many times. If SA Heath need more people to process these applications the government should be providing those resources.”
