With his head lowered and a diary in hand, independent member for MacKillop Nick McBride appeared before the Naracoorte Magistrates Court on May 7.

The 55-year-old parliamentarian faced resident magistrate Koula Kossiavelos for the first time, confronting three charges related to the alleged assault of his estranged wife of three decades, Katherine McBride, on April 10 at a property in the south east.

During the hearing, Mr McBride’s lawyer, Danni Stephens, requested an adjournment until next month to allow time for disclosure.

“Your honour, my client is sitting in parliament on the 18th of June, we’re happy with that date if your honour was to excuse him,” she said.

“If he can appear by telephone, if need be, it’s likely the matter will be adjourned to a pre-trial conference at that time.”

Ms Stephens requested from the court a six-week adjournment to allow time for the exchange of evidence between parties.

Resident magistrate Ms Kossiavelos said, “At this stage, I don’t want matters to be coming back and forth unnecessarily.”

The court granted the request, and the matter is scheduled to return on June 18 for disclosure.

Speaking to the media outside of court, Mr McBride said the matter was before the court, and it was not appropriate for him “to make any other further comment while this process continues”.

“I want to make it clear that the court process has no impact on my primary role, and that is —I’m the member for MacKillop,” he said.

“My core focus is to represent and advocate for the people who live and work in this electorate, and it’s my job, I will continue to do that.”

The issue garnered significant media attention, drawing journalists from the state’s capital and camera crews from leading television networks.

Mr McBride was first elected to parliament as a Liberal Party candidate in 2018.

At the time he was a grazier at Conmurra Station near Biscuit Flat and former president of the Grassland Society of SA.

However, Mr McBride disagreed with several members within the Liberal Party, including former opposition leader David Speirs, particularly following a MacKillop party meeting in 2023.

At the time, he claimed there were “dark forces” and “divisive factionalism” within the party.

In July 2023, Mr McBride announced he was quitting the Liberal Party and would sit on the crossbench as an independent.

It came in the wake of his former wife’s decision in April 2023 to stand against member for Barker Tony Pasin for preselection in Barker.

But the Barker membership backed Mr Pasin with 284 votes compared to 58 for Ms McBride.

This article appeared in The Naracoorte News, 14 May 2025.
Related story: McBride to face court