Labor MP Will Fowles spotted in MCC bar while on leave with ‘addiction issues’

Labor MP Will Fowles is currently on leave to battle his addiction issues, but fellow politicians are demanding the Member for Burwood return to work after being spotted socialising at the Grand Final.

A Labor MP who is on leave to battle addiction issues is expected to return to work soon after he was spotted enjoying the AFL Grand Final with friends in the MCC members reserve.

Will Fowles, the member for Burwood, was seen in the Long Room in the aftermath of Richmond’s win over Greater Western Sydney.

Mr Fowles told the Herald Sun today: “I attended the AFL Grand Final with family and friends. I have been clean and sober for 67 days and I look forward to returning to work shortly.”

But his appearance at the footy has infuriated Liberal MPs, who are calling on him to return to work now.

Will Fowles (right) was seen at the Long Room in the MCC after the Grand Final. Picture: Supplied

Liberal MP Georgie Crozier said: “Burwood voters must be thinking they have been played for fools when they see their ‘ill’ MP swanning around the MCC Long Room with his mates.”

“Daniel Andrews called for Will Fowles to be given time to overcome his drug and alcohol issues. If Will Fowles can party in the Long Room at the Grand Final, he is well enough to turn up to Parliament and represent his voters,” Ms Crozier said.

“Mr Fowles should immediately get back to work or resign and let his community choose a better representative.”

Victorian MP Will Fowles after he arrived back in Melbourne after the Canberra incident.

The damage caused by Will Fowles in a Canberra hotel when he could not access his luggage. Picture: Supplied

Mr Fowles has been on leave for more than two months after kicking down a door in a Canberra hotel.

The first-term MP said at the time that he had been dealing with “addiction and other mental health issues”.

“I have recently undertaken a course of drug and alcohol counselling and will now get the treatment I need to become a better person,” Mr Fowles had said in a statement.

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Mr Fowles entered parliament at the end of last year. He was the youngest person elected to the MCC committee in 2005.

Kew MP Tim Smith tweeted that Burwood voters would “expect him to represent them when parliament sits” later this month, while Brighton MP James Newbury said Mr Fowles’s trip to the Grand Final was a “two fingered solute (sic)” to his electorate.