Australia's politicians are legendary for having alcohol close at hand, not only before and after work but during it. The country's federal and state parliament houses contain — along with legislative chambers and libraries — restaurants, bars and liquor stores, which serve taxpayer-subsidized alcohol late into the night during parliamentary sessions. Now the undignified acts of some MPs have brought calls for a sobering-up.
In the latest incident to hit the headlines, New South Wales opposition member Andrew Fraser was caught on closed-circuit TV Dec. 2 verbally abusing one MP and pushing another in a late-night session of the state parliament. He confirmed colleagues' claims that he'd been drinking at a Christmas party, but said he was not drunk. Fraser apologized and said he "inappropriately brushed my colleague's arm aside," A Parliamentary committee is now considering whether Fraser should be...