Peter John Young: Gold Coast councillor cops fine for Burleigh Heads drink driving
A veteran Gold Coast councillor has been fined after he was caught drink driving. Read how soon he could be back on the road.
Police & Courts
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A veteran Gold Coast councillor will not be allowed back on the roads for at least a month after he was caught drink driving on the Gold Coast Highway at Burleigh Heads.
Peter John Young, 66, pleaded guilty to driving over the general alcohol limit but not over the middle alcohol limit when he appeared in the Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Police conducting patrols at Burleigh Heads stopped the Division 5 Councillor for a random breath test just after 10pm on February 28, 2025.
The court heard police noticed Young smelt of liquor and had bloodshot eyes when they requested a breath test.
Young returned a 0.069 Blood Alcohol Reading.
The court heard Young had been attending a function beforehand and told police he wasn’t aware he would have been over the limit.
Young’s defence lawyer Sam Jackson, who submitted a number of character references, told the court his client had spent most of his adult life serving the community and this conduct was abnormal for him.
He said Young had shown genuine remorse and the event had brought him not just shame from within but a degree of public shame as a result of his position.
“The shame that he feels also comes from letting the community he represents down by his actions that have brought him before the court today,” Mr Jackson said.
The court heard Young had sent an email apologising to his fellow councillors and made a public apology on his Facebook page that was seen by approximately 20,000 accounts.
In the apology, Young said he was stopped by Highway Patrol officers after attending the Astra Lumina Show at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and offered his “sincere apologies”.
“I’m deeply aware of my obligations to be a model citizen and I have clearly failed in this incident,” he said in the email to fellow councillors.
Mr Jackson said Young had made steps to remediate by completing the Queensland Traffic Offenders Program.
Acting Magistrate Steve Wettenhall noted the number of personal references, mentioned Young’s limited traffic history which included no drink driving convictions and accepted the offence was out of character for Young.
Mr Wettenhall said he was satisfied it was appropriate for him not to record a conviction, not just because Young was an elected representative but also because of other considerations like his good character.
Young was fined $350 and disqualified from obtaining a driver’s licence for one month.
Outside of court, Young told the Gold Coast Bulletin that he wasn’t driving a council car at the time of the offence.
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