Tyson Dungay: P-plater fined in Port Macquarie Local Court after drink-driving

A young father has been scolded in court after he was charged with mid-range drink-driving after downing nine Carlton Drys before getting behind the wheel.

Port Macquarie local court magistrate Georgina Darcy said she suspects Tyson Dungay has “some trouble staying on the right side of the law”, after he was charged with mid-range drink-driving.

It comes just months after Ms Darcy saw the offender appear in the same court room, last December, with the magistrate saying she’s becoming “too familiar” with the 26-year-old.

Dungay was charged in the early hours of Sunday, January 30, when he was driving a silver Toyota Hilux on Lachlan St in South Kempsey.

At about 2.15am, Dungay was stopped by police for a breath test.

He produced his provisional licence before returning a positive reading.

Dungay was taken to Kempsey police station where he undertook an additional breath analysis after a 15 minute observation period, returning a result of 0.133.

Dungay told police he had drank around nine bottles of Carlton Dry beer, with his first drink being at 7.30pm and his last at 1.50am, with no food eaten while drinking.

In the opinion of police, Dungay was moderately affected by alcohol.

His licence was suspended and confiscated until the matter was heard in court today.

According to police facts, Dungay told police he was “disappointed” with himself for driving under the influence.

Dungay’s lawyer, Matthew Lindeman, said his client made the decision to drive after a fight had broken out at the house where he was drinking.

“When the fight arose, he decided to get out of there,” the lawyer said.

The 26-year-old appeared in Port Macquarie local court today.

Mr Lindeman also told the court about the offender’s ties to the local community, as well as his responsibilities as a young single father.

“He’s a proud Aboriginal man who has a job that he’s been with for the past four years, and two kids in his care,” Mr Lindeman said.

The defence submission highlighted the importance of Dungay’s licence, as he needs to travel halfway to Tamworth every other weekend to drop his children off to their mother.

For this reason, Ms Darcy reduced the minimum disqualification period to just three months.

While the magistrate was understanding of Dungay’s parental responsibilities, she warned him of the seriousness of drink-driving.

“A reading of 0.133 is getting towards the higher end of mid-range, and you tend to get in trouble when you drink” she said, based on past interactions with the man in court.

“You could’ve slept in your car, or called your Mum for advice.

“You cooperated with police and have completed the Traffic Offender Intervention Program, but there can be no excuse (for drink-driving).

“If you’d injured someone on the road that night, you’d probably be looking at jail time.”

Dungay was convicted and fined $600 for the offence, and a Mandatory Interlock Order was placed.