Peter Slipper loses bid to have fraud charges dropped

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/09/peter-slipper-loses-bid-to-have-fraud-charges-dropped

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Former speaker Peter Slipper has lost his bid to have criminal charges over alleged fraudulent travel claims thrown out of court.

Justice John Burns in the ACT supreme court on Friday rejected an application by Slipper to have the charges dismissed.

Slipper now faces a hearing in the ACT magistrates court. His case is listed to be heard over a week from 21 July. Slipper, 64, wasn't in court for the decision.

He has pleaded not guilty to three criminal charges relating to dishonest use of a taxpayer-funded Cabcharge card for $1,000 worth of trips to wineries near Canberra in 2010, before he became House of Representatives speaker.

The prosecution alleges Slipper's travel on the three days in question was for personal, not parliamentary, purposes.

In the application to the ACT supreme court, his lawyer argued it was up to parliament to decide if he breached his entitlements, and parliamentary privilege meant he could not mount a proper defence in court.

But Burns dismissed the application. Costs will be considered at a later date.

Peter Slipper is a former Queensland Nationals and Liberal MP, holding the seat of Fisher for two decades until defeated at the election last September.