NSW: Della Bosca rejects the idea of breath-testing pollies

AAP General News (Australia)
12-04-2008
NSW: Della Bosca rejects the idea of breath-testing pollies

SYDNEY, Dec 4 AAP - A proposal for NSW politicians to be breath tested before they
vote on legislation in parliament has been dismissed by state Health Minister John Della
Bosca.

Under the proposal, breath-test kits would be made available on a voluntary basis to
MPs wanting to check their blood alcohol levels before they turn up for late night votes,
The Daily Telegraph says.

The idea has received support from Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell, Greens MPs Lee
Rhiannon and John Kaye and Speaker Richard Torbay, it says.

But Mr Della Bosca opposed the plan on Thursday, saying "random breath testing is inappropriate
for certain types of workplaces".

"My view is that you should always be sober, and careful and clearheaded on the job,
especially in a job like parliament, (or) the judiciary," he told Macquarie Radio.

"You need to be very restrained in your habits, or abstaining altogether."

Mr Della Bosca said that in his ten years in parliament he had "very seldom" seen MPs
in the house who had had too much to drink.

"I'd like to say never," he said.

However, he defended MPs of all stripes, saying most worked hard for their electorates.

"The vast majority of people are here, and out in their electorates, working hard trying
to do their best for the people of NSW," he said.

"Frankly, it is a bit sad that the good work done by a lot of people representing parliament
is undermined by a few bad practices."

Premier Nathan Rees has also refused his support for breath testing, saying MPs were
adults and needed to be responsible for their actions.

The breath testing proposal follows the forced resignation of Nationals MP Andrew Fraser
from the opposition's front bench after he pushed Nationals MP Katrina Hodgkinson during
a heated exchange he was having with Labor MP John Aquilina in the lower house on Tuesday
night.

AAP ab/wjf/ldj

KEYWORD: FRASER BREATH DELLA

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