A blanket suppression order covers the identity of a South Australian state Labor MP who has been charged with possessing child pornography.

The challenge now for authorities is to enforce the suppression in the era of Twitter and other social media, which would still be a breach. The law does not cover normal one-on-one conversations, however, and the town is abuzz.

The SA Evidence Act Section 71A[2] automatically restricts the reporting of s-xual offences, including the identification of either the victim or the alleged perpetrator, with maximum penalties of $10,000 for an individual journalist or $120,000 for a media outlet. It states:

71A — Restriction on reporting proceedings relating to s-xual offences

(2)         A person shall not, before the relevant date, publish any statement or representation —

  • by which the identity of a person who has been, or is about to be, charged with a sexual offence is revealed; or
  • from which the identity of a person who has been, or is about to be, charged with a s-xual offence, might reasonably be inferred,

unless the accused person consents to the publication.

Even so, Adelaide being the gossipy place it is, almost anyone with a passing interest in the matter would already know the name of the MP facing the charges, or could quickly find out with an email or a quick text message to a well-connected friend.

Detectives from the Sexual Crime Investigation Branch arrested the man at his home yesterday and seized computers as part of Operation Decimate, which targets offenders using the internet for child exploitation-related offences.

He was charged at the City Watch House with child exploitation offences, including including possession of child pornography, possession of child pornography (aggravated) and two charges of taking steps to access child pornography. He was released on police bail and is due to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on May 20.

The Adelaide media said he was a Labor MP but did not give his age and home suburb, for fear of the Evidence Act.

An ashen-faced Premier Mike Rann was briefed this morning after returning early from a trip to Melbourne. It’s hard to know what he can say about the case without also falling foul of the Act. In any event, it’s a major crisis for Rann, who already has plentiful headaches with a disgruntled parliamentary team and woeful poll ratings, the worst of his premiership.

A lot is at stake here. For the government, one of the problems is the odium of the charges now hangs over every male Labor MP owing to the Evidence Act suppression.

No one in political circles wants to buy into the issue. All sides have expressed shock while running the “innocent until proven guilty” line.

Police say their investigation is continuing. The Speaker of the House Lyn Breuer says police would be welcome to enter the portals of Parliament House to continue their investigation.

At the same time though in a different sphere, The Australian today reported Police Minister Kevin Foley, who is currently on a business trip to the US, as lashing Rann’s backbench. A bunch of “immature political novices … Nervous Nellies and panickers”, said the former deputy premier, who has twice been assaulted in recent times on his many nights out on the town.

“Aspiring backbenchers who wish to be ministers, and those aspiring to be MPs, have about as much political genius as I do in my left toe,” he said.

This morning on Adelaide radio there were suggestions that his left toe should be preserved for posterity.