Under the Bail Act, obtaining bail required McBride to prove the existence of special circumstances, as there was a default assumption against granting it.
“With an upcoming election, his current detention effectively bars him from vying for the seat he has occupied since 2018,” she explained to Magistrate Roderick Jensen.
McBride’s ten days in jail, coupled with the anticipated delay of his trial, were cited as reasons for these special circumstances, she added.
“To be clear, the allegations against him are both denied and contested,” she said.
Abbey also pointed out that the property is situated 111 kilometers away from his electoral office in Naracoorte.
“As you review the conditions of your bail, you’ll notice that home detention bail comes with stringent requirements,” Jensen informed McBride.
“There are what might be described properly as oppressive conditions in home detention bail.
“That is deliberately so, because it is the strictest form of bail that is available.”
“Should you breach any of those strict conditions, it is possible that you might be taken back into custody, and if you were, you might find it more difficult to get bail on a future occasion.”
Abbey offered a surety of $200,000 and three potential guarantors, but Jensen did not require a guarantor and released McBride on a $5000 surety.
McBride was also ordered not to go within 50m of the property where the alleged victim lives.
He was previously charged with three aggravated counts of assaulting the woman on April 10 at Conmurra, and another three charges of aggravated assault were added in October. McBride will return to court on those six charges, and the new charges, on January 30.
McBride has previously said he intends to run for his seat again at the state election in March.
He is also a grazier and his family has owned Conmurra Station since the 1930s.
