Gordon to plead guilty to drink driving
By
9NEWS
<img src="
http://imageresizer.static9.net.au/pd-lfXR7kWwumnF8geeKq_-hjCU=/718x0/http://prod.static9.net.au/_/media/2016/06/27/06/01/2706_gordon_sp.ashx" alt="Queensland MP Billy Gordon will face court today on a drink driving charge. (AAP)" />
Queensland MP Billy Gordon will face court today on a drink driving charge. (AAP)
FTBAPGL
Embattled Queensland MP Billy Gordon will plead guilty to driving drunk and unlicensed when he faces a Brisbane court on Friday.
The key cross-bencher was pulled over on the Kennedy Highway near Kuranda, north of Cairns, on June 1, the night of State of Origin game one.
He returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.094 per cent, almost double the legal limit, and did not hold a current drivers licence at the time.
Mr Gordon was supposed to appear before the Mareeba Magistrates Court on Monday but his solicitor Brendan Beavon of Russo Lawyers indicated the Cook MP would plead guilty.
Mr Beavon also asked that the matter be heard in Brisbane.
"I'm seeking to have the matter listed for a plea of guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court on 1 July," Mr Beavon told the court on the phone from Brisbane.
Magistrate Thomas Braes asked where Mr Gordon was, Mr Beavon replied "he is obviously not in attendance" but "is in regular contact with our office."
Mr Braes issued a warrant for Mr Gordon's arrest but postponed its enforcement date until after Friday's court appearance.
Mr Gordon's office said he was attending a series of meetings in Cairns on Monday.
After he was charged, the first-term MP issued a statement admitting there was no excuse for his "poor judgment", but said there had been a death in his immediate family.
He also apologised to his family and constituents.
"I should not have been operating a motor vehicle," he said.
"There is no excuse for poor judgment in this case."
Mr Gordon is one of a handful of cross-benchers who hold the balance of power in Queensland's tightly-balanced parliament but has had a tumultuous political career.
He won his seat in Queensland's far north as a Labor member but was forced out of the party over an undisclosed criminal record and allegations of domestic violence, from which no charges resulted.
He has also faced accusations of unpaid child support payments.
A drink driving conviction would not affect Mr Gordon's position in parliament and other MPs have retained their seats long after similar incidents, including former Labor MP Karen Struthers, who went on to be a minister in the Bligh government.
© AAP 2016
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