00:00 Leaving court fine in hand.
00:05 Country Liberal Party member Joshua Burgoyne pleading guilty to one count of careless driving
00:10 following a crash in Alice Springs last year.
00:13 It's been very difficult for me to obviously say anything.
00:15 I'm glad now that this process has taken place.
00:18 The member for Brayling was driving home at night from an event on August 26th when he
00:22 collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Norris Bell Avenue and the Stuart Highway.
00:27 A 66-year-old woman was taken to hospital following the crash.
00:32 Mr Burgoyne's lawyer told the judge his client had not been speeding and was sober at the
00:36 time, describing the incident as a "momentary lapse".
00:40 He stopped immediately.
00:41 He called triple zero.
00:43 He did everything you'd expect a good citizen to do.
00:46 Mr Burgoyne was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine plus a victim's levy of $150.
00:52 The judge acknowledged there had been an element of extracurial punishment due to extensive
00:57 media reporting surrounding the charges, but said the non-conviction was not special treatment
01:02 for a politician.
01:04 Speaking outside court, Mr Burgoyne said his name had been dragged through the mud, taking
01:09 a swipe at NT Police Minister Brent Potter, who called on the member to come clean just
01:15 days after Mr Burgoyne's involvement in the crash was reported by the ABC.
01:21 This was leaked to the media.
01:23 There were incorrect information provided.
01:27 The police minister came out on a Friday before I'd even been served my court documents.
01:31 He seemed to know more about the charges I would be facing than I did at that point.
01:35 The opposition leader doubling down on her minister's claims.
01:39 The CMPN Josh Burgoyne has been entirely transparent over this entire process.
01:44 The person who hasn't been is the police minister.
01:47 In a statement, Brent Potter said, "I found out that Josh Burgoyne was facing charges
01:51 from the media and Josh seems more worried about conspiracy theories than any care or
01:57 compassion for the victims of his actions."
02:00 Despite having the matter heard in Darwin, Mr Burgoyne won't attend parliamentary sittings
02:04 tomorrow, instead returning to Alice Springs for a funeral.
02:08 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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