Adelaide mayor hits back at abuse claims

Adelaide's lord mayor has made a formal reply to parliament after former Liberal leader Isobel Redmond claimed he verbally abused her.

Ms Redmond used parliamentary privilege on October 14 to claim Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood called her a "f***ing c***" outside a function in 2013 after she criticised local planning laws.

She said the incident showed the lord mayor's true nature, and claimed he was not fit for office.

Mr Yarwood, who is up for re-election next month, has consistently denied abusing Ms Redmond.

A formal right of reply by the lord mayor was tabled in parliament on Thursday and will be inserted into Hansard.

"(Ms Redmond) claimed I called her an abhorrent name and suggested I had pushed a camera at a prior event," Mr Yarwood says in the reply.

"I wish to advise that these claims are untrue."

Ms Redmond, who resigned as Liberal leader in 2013, apologised to the South Australian electoral commissioner in June for accusing her in parliament of being "utterly corrupt".

Attorney-General John Rau had asked the Speaker to rule on whether that claim breached parliamentary privilege.