A Northern Territory Labor MLA has conceded he has an issue with speeding and has committed to taking driver refresher training, as a further infringement comes to light.
NT shadow minister Manuel Brown was this week revealed to have had his licence suspended for three months last year after multiple speeding tickets.
The suspension came 17 years after Mr Brown received a conviction for driving without due care, following a crash which led to the death of a woman in Katherine in 2009.
Today it was revealed by news outlet the NT Independent that after his recent suspension was served, Mr Brown received another speeding fine.
"I can confirm I have received a further speeding infringement," Mr Brown said today.
"There is no excuse for speeding.
"I recognise this is a pattern of behaviour that I need to address properly, and I will be undertaking remedial driver training to ensure it does not happen again."
At this stage, Mr Brown has retained his shadow portfolios, including education and training, early years education and young Territorians, among others.
Mr Brown is also facing questions over whether his 14-year-old son had previously driven his car.
Sources have told the ABC that the Arafura MLA had a picture on his private Facebook page of his underage son behind the wheel; the existence of which Mr Brown has not denied.
However, he did say "at no stage has my child ever driven my taxpayer-funded vehicle".
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Brendan Muldoon said on ABC Radio Darwin that if any evidence of Mr Brown's son driving the car was reported, police would "look into it".
Government fuel transaction records show Mr Brown's taxpayer-funded car was used extensively during the period his licence was suspended.
It is not clear who was driving the vehicle during that period, however Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said there were four other people authorised to drive it.
Uibo regrets lack of public disclosure
The politician's infringement history has surfaced during a horror week for NT Labor, which is also dealing with allegations of workplace misconduct within Opposition Leader's office.
It is currently unconfirmed if Mr Brown's latest fine was disclosed to his boss, Ms Uibo.
His earlier suspension had been disclosed to Ms Uibo, but neither she nor Mr Brown made it public at the time.
Ms Uibo conceded on ABC Radio Darwin today that it should've been raised publicly earlier.
"At the time I was concerned that people would link the traffic infringement to that horrific incident in 2009," Ms Uibo said.
"And obviously that's what it's been linked to now, and that's what I was trying to avoid."
Ms Uibo said Mr Brown "knows he needs to do better".
"That's not the standard I expect from him or my team," she said.
Ms Uibo said she had received "supportive messages" from NT Labor party members to remain in the position as Opposition Leader while the party goes through its internal issues.
View original source — ABC News ↗


