Caught driving at nearly twice the legal alcohol limit even though he's never had a licence, controversial Queensland MP Billy Gordon has been fined $750 and banned from getting behind the wheel for four months.
But the Cook MP avoided a conviction after the Brisbane Magistrates Court heard it could hurt his plans to travel to Canada.
Gordon, who had a previous conviction for unlicensed driving five years ago, didn't comment to waiting media as he left the court on Friday after pleading guilty to charges of drink-driving and driving without a licence.
The politician, who is one of a handful of crossbenchers who hold the balance of power in Queensland's tightly balanced parliament, was pulled over on the Kennedy Highway near Kuranda, north of Cairns, late on June 1 - the night of the first State of Origin game.
The court heard Gordon had "quite frankly" told police who stopped him he didn't have a licence before returning a blood-alcohol concentration reading of 0.094, almost twice the legal limit.
He had never held an open licence, only a learner's permit, and was making fortnightly payments to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry, the court heard.
His lawyer, Trent Jones, of Russo Lawyers, which is headed by Labor MP Peter Russo, said his client hadn't been driving in a populated area and submitted a period of four months disqualification was appropriate.
Magistrate Noel Nunan agreed and imposed the disqualification term, along with a fine of $750.
He acknowledged the 2011 unlicensed driving conviction, but said it fell outside the time limit required to have a bearing on Friday's sentence.
Gordon had "suffered some degree of public shaming" since the charges were laid, he noted.
At that time Gordon had issued a statement admitting there was no excuse for his "poor judgment", but said there had been a death in his immediate family.
"I remain focused on my role and my passion for representing the people of Cook," he said.
The court appearance is the latest controversy to plague the first-term MP's tumultuous political career.
He was forced out of the minority Labor government over domestic violence allegations, of which he was later cleared, and has also faced accusations of failing to pay child support.
