Catharine Phillips: Ex-Wandoo Rehabilitation Prison acting superintendent applies for extraordinary licence

The former boss of WA’s first ever drug and alcohol rehabilitation prison who admitted to drink-driving last year wants to drive again under the State’s extraordinary licence laws. The West Australian can reveal that Catharine Phillips — who was previously the acting superintendent of the Wandoo Rehabilitation Prison — will lodge a court application next month to attain an extraordinary driver’s licence. Dr Phillips — who still holds an assistant superintendent role in the prison system — pleaded guilty to mid-range drink-driving in December after she blew 0.086 when stopped in Rivervale on October 31. She pleaded guilty at her first appearance in the Perth Magistrate’s Court and was granted a spent conviction, fined $500 and disqualified from driving for six months. In court, it was revealed Dr Phillips, 44, had been out to dinner with a friend when she was stopped and breathalysed on Orrong Road just before 10.30pm. Her lawyer Oliver Paxman told the court his client had “miscalculated” how much she had to drink, partly due to the fact she had lost some weight recently. “There was no one else in the car ... her driving was in no way related to her employment,” Mr Paxman said at the time. “She doesn’t have an alcohol problem that needs to be addressed.” A statement released on Dr Phillips’ behalf after the court hearing said she was sorry for her actions. “Dr Phillips is a dedicated public servant with no criminal history and an unblemished work history,” it said. “She apologises for her conduct in this case.” An extraordinary licence can allow someone who has been disqualified from driving to drive in certain circumstances and at specific times of the day. In 2013, then transport minister Troy Buswell ordered a review of the system after the Department of Transport failed to oppose an e-licence application by notorious drink driver Mitchell Walsh. Walsh got the licence despite his appalling driving record. As a result of the review, magistrates must now make public safety their overriding consideration in e-licence cases.