MP Tim Smith refuses to resign after drunken crash
In an awkward exchange with journalists, embattled MP Tim Smith has refused to resign, repeatedly refusing to answer one question.
Victoria
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Disgraced Liberal MP Tim Smith has confirmed he won’t be resigning from parliament but refused to say whether Opposition Leader Matthew Guy told him to stand down at the next election.
At his first press conference since crashing his car while drunk on the weekend, he apologised and said he needed to reflect on his future.
But in a drawn-out, awkward exchange in which journalists tried to pin down exactly what he and Matthew Guy had discussed, Mr Smith repeatedly dodged the question.
The Liberal leader had told reporters the disgraced MP should step down from the seat of Kew at the next election, but Mr Smith didn’t confirm this.
“Advice has been given that I need to reflect,” Mr Smith said.
“I’m not going to undermine the sanctity of a private conversation.”
At one point, reporters told Tim Smith the office of Matthew Guy was texting them live during the press conference to say Mr Smith was not telling the truth and he was told to stand down at the next election.
“Recollections may differ,” he said.
“I haven’t seen the text message.
“You’re asking me to comment on something I haven’t seen.”
He began the press conference by confirming he would stay in parliament for now.
“I’m not resigning from the parliament,” he said.
“This was the worst mistake of my life. Does one error mean that a career is over forever?
“I’ve worked my guts out for years and years.
“He who is without sin, cast the first stone.
“This is the most humbling, embarrassing … experience.
“I’m not unwell, I’m an idiot.”
Mr Smith denied having a drinking problem when asked by a journalist, but said he probably drank a little too much “like a lot of guys … over the past 18 months”.
He said he has apologised “profusely” to the family and regrets his actions.
Mr Smith said he has not yet decided whether he will recontest at the next election.
It comes after Senior Liberals grew increasingly concerned about embattled MP Tim Smith’s refusal to flag his exit from parliament.
Sources close to Mr Guy said he remained furious over the drink-driving incident.
“As for him dragging it out, he doesn’t have the ability to make him see reason,” the source said.
“For Tim, it’s all about Tim.
“Matthew Guy is hoping at some stage the penny will drop.”
The MP was earlier grilled by 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Wednesday morning in his first interview since the crash, claiming he had “a few glasses of wine” before the incident on Saturday night.
But sources close to the 38-year-old claim he was “smashing cocktails” at a mate’s house before he was caught drink-driving at almost three times the legal limit, crashing into a car and family home in Hawthorn.
Mr Smith would not be drawn when asked about the claims.
“The Herald Sun can say whatever they like,” he said.
It is understood Smith has given a similar version of events to police.
The embattled MP publicly apologised for blowing twice over the legal limit and crashing his car and said it was an “appalling lack of judgment”.
“I’m so, so sorry for the harm and embarrassment I have caused,” he told 3AW.
Mr Smith said he was speaking to his GP about never drinking again while in public life.
“I don’t think I’m an alcoholic but I certainly have consumed too much alcohol on occasions,” he said.
Mr Smith said he “hadn’t eaten all day” and had been drinking wine at a friend’s house for a couple of hours.
“I made the worst decision of my life and all I can say is I’m deeply sorry.
“I didn’t know I was over the limit … I am profoundly and utterly disgusted by my behaviour.”
When asked about his previous calls for Labor MP Will Fowles to resign after damaging a Canberra hotel room, Mr Smith said he probably wouldn’t have made those calls if he’d known more about Mr Fowles’ personal situation.
“I’ve made a huge error and I’m asking for forgiveness,” Mr Smith said.
“I was shocked and amazed by what happened in regards to the reading.”
The MP said he was asking other people whether he should continue to work in politics, including his parents and Kew branch members.
“I don’t know yet, I’m reflecting on my position,” he said.
“The question for them: should one horrendously poor judgment render someone’s career over immediately?”
Mr Smith said he did not feel betrayed by Mr Guy.
“Matthew has been let down by me,” he said.
Mr Smith also denied he tried to leave the scene of the crash but said he had tried to reverse his car afterwards.
FRYDENBERG: SMITH’S BEHAVIOUR ‘UNACCEPTABLE’
Mr Smith is under intense pressure to quit the Liberal party after Mr Guy said he did not want him to contest the next election.
But the controversial MP remained defiant he could hold out against the scandal amid support from senior federal Liberal MPs.
Josh Frydenberg said Mr Smith had some “soul searching” to do and would make a decision about his future in coming weeks.
“Tim needs to consider carefully what his state leader has said,” the federal Treasurer told Sky News.
“Tim has obviously got commitments to fulfil in his local community, and he should fulfil those commitments in his local community as their elected representative.
“But what he did was unacceptable … drink driving is dangerous.”
When asked whether he’d encouraged Mr Smith to remain in state politics, Mr Frydenberg deflected.
“He’s a state member of parliament, I’m a federal member and the Treasurer,” he said.
The Treasurer also refuted a question about whether he had encouraged Mr Smith to lay low in wake of the scandal.
“I think your characterisation of those comments are wrong. What I’m saying is he should take the time to consider his future and make a decision in his own time,” he said.
“As for Matthew and I, I saw reported that this has somehow created tension between us, I wish those journalists would contact me before they wrote that because that is not the case.”
DEPUTY PREMIER SLAMS ‘RECKLESS’ SMITH
Deputy Premier James Merlino said Mr Smith’s actions could have easily cost lives.
“This was incredibly dangerous. It could have led to the loss of lives. It was incredibly reckless,” Mr Merlino said.
Mr Merlino, who was out on the road spruiking school builds, refused to say whether he thought Mr Smith should be stood down.
“I’ve lost count of the number of times that Tim Smith has called on someone else to resign. I’m not going to play those games,” he said.
“This is ultimately a matter for Tim Smith and his party. What I would say, and what I’m thankful for, is that he wasn’t hurt and no one else was hurt.
“In terms of his future, that is a matter for him and his future.
“His leader, Matthew Guy, has been absolutely unequivocal – he wants Tim Smith out. What we’ve heard from Tim Smith is he desperately wants to say.”
Mr Merlino added: “I think you should reflect on the last couple of weeks with the Liberal party. You’ve looked at incredibly abusive shadow cabinet meetings, you’ve got a member of his parliamentary team using disgraceful Nazi rhetoric. And now we’ve had a significant incident that could have led to the loss of our life.
“The Liberal Party is an absolute rabble.”
When asked if that type of behaviour would be supported in the state government, Mr Merlino said: “What I won’t do is behave as Tim Smith would behave if this was something.”
Mr Guy was facing intense pressure from Victorian Liberals, including Commonwealth ministers, to let Mr Smith remain as a backbencher.
The next day, Mr Smith stood down as shadow attorney-general and Mr Guy met him on Monday night to discuss his future.
On Tuesday, the opposition leader revealed he told his friend and close ally that he wouldn’t be serving on a Coalition frontbench he leads and had no future in the parliamentary party.
“I made it clear to him (Mr Smith) that I didn’t want him to nominate for the next election and that I didn’t believe he should nominate for the seat of Kew.”
A well-placed source said some federal MPs had been urging Mr Smith to “stick around”, but Mr Guy was worried if he did he would cause serious damage to the party’s election prospects.
If he does not take his leader’s resignation advice, the Liberals may have to reject his application for preselection.
Nominations are open until November 12, with upper house MPs and rising stars in the party already being discussed as replacements.
Mr Guy said his advice was for Mr Smith to stay on until the state election next year to avoid a by-election.
“Enough damage has been done,” he said. “He’s a friend of mine, not just a colleague.
“But I’m sorry, this is the right decision, the right way to go for the sake of the people of Victoria.”
Former premier Ted Baillieu said the Liberals could use the scandal as an opportunity to rebrand.
“The Liberal Party’s future is dependent on appealing to the middle ground and their ability to provide a capable alternative to government.”
Another former premier, Jeff Kennett, said Mr Smith’s “life-changing mistake” had been “personally induced”.
“No one is exempt from the application of the law when one drives under such circumstances. The lawmakers themselves the least so.”
POLICE PROBE REMAINS OPEN
Victoria Police on Monday confirmed the investigation into Mr Smith, who had been touted as a future party leader, remained active.
He has been fined for driving over the legal limit, but no charges have been laid related to his collision with another car and crash into the fence of a family home.
Among the charges that could be considered is careless driving, which relates to when a motorist has not taken proper care on the road.
The more serious charge of dangerous driving is harder to prove but carries a heavier punishment and can be applied even if no one was injured.
Mr Smith resigned from the shadow cabinet on Sunday morning after the crash, in which his car was believed to have hit a fence just metres from a child’s bed.
The plaster on the inside wall of the bedroom had cracked, according to an image seen by the Herald Sun.
Mr Smith’s licence was automatically suspended for 12 months after he recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.131 – almost three times the legal limit.
The MP said he believed he was under the legal limit after having dinner with friends.
COST OF CRASH TO TOP $100K
The former shadow attorney-general is to face a personal bill of more than $100,000 in repairs, including to his own written-off Jaguar. It is believed he will also be required to pay damages to the other vehicle, and potentially cover the costs of engineering assessments to the house damaged by his car.
The Kew MP escaped Melbourne to “recollect himself” and was bunkering down on the Mornington Peninsula.
Mr Guy, who was “bitterly disappointed and extremely angry”, travelled down to visit Mr Smith on Tuesday.
Mr Guy said he believed Mr Smith had what it took to lead the party but acknowledged the drunken incident “would certainly make it very difficult”. “This is an unfortunate and quite a disastrous moment for him where his career has gone the way that it has with this incident,” he said.
“He’s done something which is inexcusable, and it will impact on him, we all know that.
“I am bitterly disappointed that any member of parliament, let alone one of my colleagues and friends, would get behind the wheel after drinking.”
Senior Liberals are now openly discussing whether Mr Smith can survive as an MP, and many say he should not stand at the next election.
Dr Zareh Ghazarian, a lecturer in politics in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University, predicted the incident would cause even more headaches for the Liberal Party.
Dr Ghazarian said despite lengthy lockdowns and failures by the state government throughout the pandemic, the opposition had failed to gain traction against Premier Daniel Andrews.
“The Coalition, despite its attempts and despite whatever it’s trying to do, is really struggling to get any runs on the board when it comes to dealing with the Andrews government,” he told 3AW.
“The Andrews government and the premier is still very popular despite the lockdowns and the economic and social challenges we’ve faced.
“This is a huge problem for the Liberal Party.”
Dr Ghazarian said Mr Smith’s resignation from the front bench would do more harm than good.
“It’s a huge problem for the party itself because now they have to fill the hole (left by Mr Smith), they still have to maintain the momentum of trying to attack the government but they can’t do that when they’re fielding questions about Tim Smith and his potential future,” he said.
“When you have these sorts of things happening, they are really going to shake the foundations of (Mr Guy’s) leadership.”
But Dr Ghazarian said the incident hadn’t necessarily cost Mr Smith his political career.
“It’s all going to depend on how he positions himself and how he responds, as does the party,” he said.
“I think this is a huge setback for his political career and it’s a big blow for the Liberal Party.
“Tim Smith has a really high public profile and he was leading the charge against the government, quite vigorously.
“When you look at the sorts of people on the front bench of the Coalition in Victoria, Tim Smith would be one of the most prominent there.”
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the MP blew a high alcohol reading on Saturday after crashing into another car and a fence near Power St, Hawthorn, about 8.55pm.
His licence was immediately suspended and he has been slapped with a fine.
No one was injured.
In a statement, Mr Smith said he had made “a serious error of judgment”.
“After dinner with friends I believed I was under the legal limit to drive home,” he said.
“This was not the case. I apologise to my constituents, my colleagues, my family and the people of Victoria who expect their elected representatives to uphold the highest standards of behaviour.”
One seasoned police officer said a blood-alcohol level of .131 was a very high reading.
“If he’s only had a couple of drinks it must have been a couple of jugs,” the officer said.
Mr Smith came within metres of crashing into a child’s bedroom, a tradesman at the site revealed.
“Behind this wall is the children’s bed,” Michael, one of the two people tasked with repairs, said. “If the damage was bigger, the wall could have collapsed or made a hole.”
“(The occupiers of the property) are probably going to need to send an engineer to look on the inside.”
The tradesmen said the damage would have been much more extensive had it not been for the kerb, which allegedly slowed down the former shadow attorney-general’s vehicle.
“I reckon he was (travelling) quite fast, you can see how hard it hit (the fence),” he said.
“The kerb slowed down the vehicle … if the kerb (was shaped differently) it probably would have been much worse”.
Neighbours say Mr Smith became “really agitated” as he repeatedly tried to reverse his Jaguar out of the Power St property – and feared his failed efforts could have set the vehicle on fire.
Power St resident Katherine rushed outside after she heard “a really loud bang” from the other side of the road.
She says she saw the then shadow Attorney-General repeatedly trying to reverse his car before police and emergency services arrived at the scene.
“He kept getting in and out (of his car) and trying to reverse it out of the fence … he was very erratic,” Katherine said.
The loud collision caught the attention of Katherine’s entire family, but she told her two children to go back inside her home amid fears Mr Smith’s vehicle could catch alight. She said the wheels of car “kept spinning” because the vehicle was destroyed.
“He was getting really agitated … I was getting quite anxious (the car) would ignite because it hit a wall,” she said.
“A car which has been that badly damaged can ignite … there was steam coming out of it.”
It reportedly took about 40 minutes before a tow truck arrived following the collision and about ten police officers attended the scene.
Katherine said Mr Smith was lucky to be alive following the collision.
“He was lucky he wasn’t killed himself because his vehicle was totalled … it was horrible,” she said.
“We are just lucky he didn’t kill someone,” added her partner, Peter.
Originally published as MP Tim Smith refuses to resign after drunken crash
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