Victorian MP Will Fowles says dark battle with drugs, alcohol and mental health behind Canberra door incident
Embattled MP Will Fowles has revealed his dark battle with drugs, alcohol and mental health, saying he has “done things I can’t remember” and he “hasn’t coped particularly well” since being elected to parliament.
VIC News
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Embattled MP Will Fowles has revealed his dark battle with drugs and alcohol saying: “I have done things that I can’t remember”.
In his first major interview since having a breakdown in a Canberra hotel and destroying a door, the member for Burwood says he has now been sober for 76 days and is ready to return to state parliament next week.
Mr Fowles told the Herald Sun he had privately been battling mental health issues for 15 years, which also included self medicating.
But his life spiralled out of control after being elected to the Andrews government in November 2018.
When asked about allegations of illicit substances Mr Fowles declined to discuss the types of drugs and alcohol he has used.
Instead, he said his anxiety reached a peak in January and he sought counselling, including for substance abuse.
“Many of my colleagues have worked in professional politics before becoming a parliamentarian, I haven’t and there was much that was new to me and I haven’t coped particularly well with elements of that,” he said.
“There was a pattern of behaviour where clearly there were some problems.”
Not realising the extent of his issues Mr Fowles’ world came crashing down during the now infamous violent outburst at a Canberra hotel on July 26.
Mr Fowles was in the nation’s capital watching the maiden speech of his colleague, new Labor senator Raff Ciccone.
Fowles’ evening began with celebratory drinks for Senator Ciccone, which was also attended by Penny Wong, Ed Husic and Kimberley Kitching.
The celebrations moved on to another venue with some Victorian Labor staffers but from there it is not clear how the night progressed.
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At 2am Mr Fowles returned to the Abode Hotel. At 7:50am he kicked in a door to retrieve his bag which had clothes and medication inside.
“I got to the hotel and again, the details I don’t particularly want to go over, but I found myself in a situation where I was crippled by anxiety,” he said.
“I needed my medication, my clothes, and the hotel was unstaffed. I took matters into my own hands, that’s the reason, not the excuse.”
The 41-year-old said the moments after the meltdown were some of the darkest times of his life as he realised the gravity of what he had done.
“I am very sorry for what I did,” he said.
“Sitting in that hotel room with police there and the reality setting in was horrible … the realisation crashing in about what I had done, what the implications were going to be, how remorseful I was, how angry I was with myself, how embarrassed and ashamed I was.”
At home in Melbourne his wife of three years Jessica Fox, 31, watched the incident unfold on the news with intermittent contact with her husband by phone.
“The day that it happened was probably the toughest day of my life and definitely the toughest time for us as a family,” Ms Fox said.
In the weeks following the incident, which did not result in criminal charges, Fowles had to sit his three children down and tell them the facts.
“That would rank as the most difficult conversation of my life,” he said.
“You can’t help but feel something of a failure as a parent when you have to sit down with three sons aged 14, 12 and 9 and go through your falability as a parent.
“Having fallen short of the behaviour I expect of myself and the behaviour I expect of them. “That’s about the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It was extraordinarily challenging.”
It was Mr Fowles’ first brush with the law and did not result in police charges.
However, he has paid compensation to the owner of the hotel and apologised.
Looking forward, he says: “I am 76 days sober and I am taking it one day at the time” and he plans to advocate for mental health awareness.
“Twenty per cent of Australians have a mental health episode in their life and I don’t think politicians certainly are immune from that and I think frankly there is some value of politicians being representative of that cohort for our community.”
Premier Daniel Andrews and Mental Health Minister Martin Foley have previously been supportive of helping the member for Burwood through his personal battles.
Originally published as Victorian MP Will Fowles says dark battle with drugs, alcohol and mental health behind Canberra door incident