Upper Lachlan Shire councillor Paul Culhane sentenced for drink driving in Crookwell

Culhane, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of drive with middle range PCA at Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday.

The court heard Culhane had been celebrating his rugby league club's grand final win at a local pub in Crookwell.

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Police documents revealed police had been patrolling Cullen Street just after midnight on September 4 when Culhane's vehicle was seen to swerve towards the centre of the road after almost leaving the bitumen onto the grass median strip.

The documents revealed he had been drinking from 4pm to midnight and told police he had consumed six schooners of mid-strength beer between those hours.

The court heard that police observed Culhane to be unsteady on his feet, that his speech was slurred and he smelt heavily of alcohol.

According to police documents, Culhane walked unassisted to Crookwell Police Station where he was breath tested just before 1am and returned a positive reading of 0.141.

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In court, Culhane's lawyer Richard Brandon-Baker said Culhane had made plans to stay with his mother that evening and had made a "stupid decision" to drive a short distance.

"He accepts he should've walked and regrets his decision deeply," he said.

Mr Brandon-Baker said Culhane was well-known to the community, particularly for his community service work, and that this offence was completely "out of character".

Police prosecutor Jason Ryan said despite his character references, 0.141 was a very high reading.

Magistrate Geraldine Beattie said drink driving seemed to be endemic to the Crookwell community and there was a strong need for deterrence.

"For some reason people have the idea that drink driving is ok in that community and try to justify it by saying they're only going so far," she said.

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Ms Beattie said while Culhane was not a known "danger to the community", that night he was.

"This poor decision-making isn't consistent with your character," she said.

"You could've walked, easily, it's not that far, then no one would've been in danger including you, and you wouldn't have broken the law."

Culhane was fined $1800 and disqualified from driving for four months. He will then be able to apply for a 12-month interlock licence.

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