Victoria’s shadow Attorney-General resigns after drink driving

One of Victoria’s most senior opposition politicians has quit the shadow cabinet after he was caught driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit.

Kew MP and shadow Attorney-General Tim Smith, 38, said in a statement on Sunday that he had made a “serious error of judgment” the previous night.

“After dinner with friends, I believed I was under the legal limit to drive home,” he said.

“This was not the case. I was breath tested and returned a positive reading.”

Victoria Police said emergency services were called to reports that a car had collided with another vehicle before crashing into a fence on Power St in Hawthorn just before 9pm on Saturday.

“The driver of the vehicle, a 38-year-old Kew man, tested positive for alcohol and was taken to a police station where he returned an evidentiary breath test reading of 0.131,” police said in a statement.

“The man had his licence immediately suspended and will receive an infringement notice for exceed prescribed concentration of alcohol.”

Police said no one was injured in the incident.

Mr Smith made no mention of a crash in his statement.

“I have been fined under the Road Safety Act and my licence has been suspended for 12 months,” he said.

“Today, I tendered my resignation from the shadow cabinet to the Leader of the Opposition, which he has accepted.”

Mr Smith apologised to his constituents, colleagues, family and the people of Victoria.

“(They) expect their elected representatives to uphold the highest standards of behaviour,” he said.