Australian safety official loses license

SYDNEY, May 13 (UPI) -- The minister in charge of road safety in the Australian state of New South Wales announced Tuesday his license is about to be suspended for speeding.

John Della Bosca, the state education minister, told reporters he did not try to bury the news by making the announcement on the same day as the release of the federal budget, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. He admitted he is a serial offender who was put over the limit for revocation in late April when he was clocked coming out of a tunnel at more than 10 mph over the posted limit.

He acknowledged he only told the Roads and Traffic Authority on Tuesday that he was the driver of the offending car. Della Bosca is also industrial relations minister, which puts him in charge of the motor accidents authority.

Barry O'Farrell, the opposition leader in New South Wales, lampooned Della Bosca at a news conference Tuesday by raising his pinky finger in front of reporters. The gesture is used in a road safety commercial to suggest that men who violate traffic rules are not well endowed.