ictorian Premier Ben Carroll has admitted he forgot to pay for petrol after driving away from a service station on Oct. 19, following a busy night on the phone.
“Late Monday night, I was running some errands and filled up the car with petrol. Found out yesterday I forgot to pay. I fixed the bill straight away,” he said in a statement.
“Grateful for the team at the servo for their understanding.”
The premier, who faces an election on Nov. 28, reportedly became aware of the incident after police contacted the Department of Parliamentary Services that evening.
Carroll further explained the incident at Melbourne Assembly event on Oct. 21, saying he had a family errand to run.
“It shows that politicians are human beings and even premiers make mistakes. Monday was a tough day for a lot of reasons and I got home and I had a busy night on the phone and my wife and I had a discussion who was going to return Maddie’s Prince pencil case. I said I’ll do it, and I’ll get petrol,” he said.
“And then I found at the following day I didn’t pay for the petrol. That has since been rectified, but I have been contacted by the former Deputy Premier John Thwaites who’s told me: ‘don’t worry Ben, I didn’t pay for the petrol, and I also drove off with the nozzle in the car.’
“That made me feel a lot better thanks to John Thwaites.”
Victorian Police has declined to comment on the issue.
Liberal Opposition Leader Jess Wilson came to Carroll’s defence when asked about the incident.
“I think we all make mistakes when we are under a bit of pressure and the premier is probably under a bit of pressure at the moment,” she told 3AW Radio.
