An Australian state leader said he was contacted by police after accidentally driving away from a petrol station without paying his bill.
Victoria premier Ben Carroll said he drove away from a petrol station without paying after filling up his car late on Monday night. Police contacted him on Tuesday, he confirmed, and he returned to the service station to settle up.
The 51-year-old said he forgot to pay because he was running errands. “Late Monday night, I was running some errands and filled up the car with petrol,” he said in a statement early on Wednesday morning.
“I found out yesterday I forgot to pay. I fixed the bill straight away.”
He added that he was “grateful for the team at the servo for their understanding”.
On Wednesday morning, he told reporters: “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 about who was going to return my daughter’s friend’s pencil case. I said, I’d do it and I’d get petrol. And then I found out the following day I hadn’t paid for the petrol.”
“That has since been rectified,” he added.
Victoria police commissioner Mike Bush said an accidental, non-deliberate drive-off was generally a “civil matter unless it’s proven otherwise”.
No further action is expected against Mr Carroll.
My thoughts - and the thoughts of all Victorians - are with Helen. pic.twitter.com/SjIIvJuQT6
— Ben Carroll (@BenCarrollMP) October 19, 2026
“If someone does something accidentally, non-deliberately, it becomes a very civil matter,” the commissioner said. “That civil redress is available, and I do understand that civil redress was made. It does occur and that’s why we’re very careful not to criminalise every petrol driver. We do understand, and I’m very empathetic and sympathetic to petrol station owners who do suffer, but it’s not always criminal.”
The incident came a day after the premier responded to an alleged attack on federal MP Helen Haines in Victoria.
Mr Carroll later said that his episode showed that “politicians are human beings and even premiers make mistakes”. He said that former deputy premier John Thwaites had contacted him after the episode. “Don’t worry, Ben. I didn’t pay for the petrol, and I also drove off with the nozzle in the car and took the petrol bowser with me,” Mr Thwaites reportedly told him.
“That made me feel a lot better,” Mr Carroll said.
The incident also came months after his predecessor, Jacinta Allan, raised concerns about a rise in illegal petrol station drive-offs.
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