Labor MP busted for ignoring a stop sign ‘claimed she shouldn’t have been fined because she’s a politician’
- MP who disobeyed a stop sign allegedly begged police to be let off with warning
- Tania Mihailuk was fined and lost demerit points over the incident late last year
- Fearing she would lose her licence, she appealed to minister to review decision
A politician who ignored a stop sign with her young daughter in the car allegedly begged to be let off with a warning before lobbying a minister in a desperate attempt to overturn the fine.
Bankstown Labor MP Tania Mihailuk was pulled over by police in Revesby in Sydney’s south-west just before 6pm on November 5 after she failed to stop at a stop sign.
NSW Police confirmed police stopped the vehicle and spoke with the female driver.
‘The woman was subsequently issued with a fine for ‘not stop at stop line,’ a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
The offence incurs a $344 fine and the loss of three demerit points.
NSW MP Tania Mihailuk was pulled over by police after not stopping at stop sign late last year
Police sources claim Ms Mihailuk begged officers to be let off because she was a ‘politician and should be given a warning’, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
She initially denied claims she used her role to beg police to her let off with a warning but then admitted she couldn’t remember.
‘I accept the police’s view and if that is what the police officer recalls me saying then I don’t dispute that,’ Ms Mihailuk said.
Her daughter, 14, was in the car at the time.
Fearing she may lose her licence due to previous blemishes on her driving record, she then appealed for leniency to NSW Finance Minister Damien Tudehope to overturn the decision.
She supplied the publication with her written request, which was later rejected by the minister.
‘My offences to date are not speed related and are sadly mostly poor judgments on my part,’ her letter states.
NSW Finance minister Damien Tudehope rejected the MP’s written request for leniency
Ms Mihailuk claims she needs her licence to transport a gravely-ill loved one for treatment
She argued for leniency as she needs to drive a gravely ill loved one with a serious illness to hospital up to four times each week and doesn’t live near public transport, making private transport ‘our only option.’
In the letter, she believes she came to a complete stop prior to reaching the stop line but then writes: ‘I accept the police’s view I didn’t stop at the required distance from the line.’
Ms Mihailuk admitted she’s has done ‘a few silly things’ but has never been fined for drink driving or speeding.
‘I’ve got a few things (offences) there,’ she told The Sunday Telegraph.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Mihailuk for further comment.
A spokesman for Mr Tudehope said the minister was unable to comment on individual cases.
‘My offences to date are not speed related and are sadly mostly poor judgments on my part,’ the MP wrote to minister Damien Tudehope (pictured)
The MP failed to stop at sign on The River Road in Revesby at Henry Lawson Drive