General News
15 August, 2023
Maryborough woman convicted, loses licence over driving offences
A 51-year-old Maryborough woman has lost her licence and been fined $1000 after she was caught speeding, drink and drug driving in the region. Dianne Campion fronted the Maryborough Magistrates’ Court last week where she pleaded guilty to a number...
A 51-year-old Maryborough woman has lost her licence and been fined $1000 after she was caught speeding, drink and drug driving in the region.
Dianne Campion fronted the Maryborough Magistrates’ Court last week where she pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including breaching a Community Corrections Order (CCO), drink driving, drug driving and speeding.
The court heard that on March 22 last year, the accused was observed by police driving a vehicle in Neill Street, Maryborough and was intercepted in Nolan Street.
Ms Campion underwent a preliminary oral fluid test which flagged the presence of an illicit substance in her system, with further testing showing the presence of methylamphetamine and cannabis.
The court heard the accused told police at the time she had “no excuse” for having an illicit substance in her system, admitting to using marijuana on the weekend prior to the offending.
In November, the accused was clocked doing 120 km/h in a 100 zone on the Calder Highway at Bridge-water.
Police intercepted the accused and a preliminary breath test showed the presence of alcohol in her system.
Further testing revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.027, which while less than the maximum legal limit of 0.05, is above the limit for Ms Campion, who had a licence condition requiring zero alcohol in her system.
It was revealed the accused has a prior criminal record, including a drink driving charge dating back to 2016.
The accused’s defence lawyer told the court Ms Campion had an unstable upbringing and had experienced challenges throughout her life.
He said that in relation to the drink driving matter, the accused had some drinks the night before and was unaware she would be over the limit.
For the drug driving matter, the defence acknowledged Ms Campion had told police she’d used marijuana on the weekend before the offending, but stated she denied any knowledge of how meth got into her system.
The defence submitted Ms Campion may benefit from a CCO in terms of sentencing, however Magistrate Sharon McRae argued the accused had largely completed her previous CCO and had only breached the order by re-offending.
“In terms of the corrections breach I’m just going to find the charge proven and confirm the order, you’ve done all the work hours and I’m not going to punish you twice because the breach of the order relates to this further offending,” she said.
“This is a very mixed bag of charges today which is unfortunate.
“You must get your mind a bit clearer so you make better decisions about how you behave otherwise you’re just going to keep coming back here.
“Don’t muddy the waters with drugs or alcohol because that’s going to make it extremely difficult for you.”
Ms Campion was fined an aggregate $1000 with a conviction, and her licence was cancelled and she was disqualified from driving for 12 months.