'People should be entitled to have one or two beers': Pauline Hanson rubbishes calls for a zero blood alcohol limit for ALL drivers after the tragic deaths of three siblings and their cousin

  • Pauline Hanson slammed calls for overhaul of Australian drink-driving laws
  • Experts called for blood-alcohol limit to be dropped to zero after Sydney crash
  • Seven children were killed while walking on a side-walk to get ice cream 
  • Samuel Davidson has been charged with 20 offences including manslaughter
  • He allegedly returned reading of 0.150, which is three times the legal limit  

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has slammed calls for an overhaul of Australia's laws after an alleged drunk-driver mowed down four children as they walked to get ice cream.

Experts called for the blood-alcohol limit to be dropped to zero after the horrific crash at Oatlands in Sydney's north-west on Saturday.

Senator Hanson appeared on the Today show on Monday morning to discuss the zero-tolerance approach to curb drunk-driving related deaths.

She said she didn't support calls to reduce the blood-alcohol limit to zero. 

'Society is now 0.05 alcohol limit and I think that is fair,' she told Today host Karl Stefanovic.

'People will still drink more. We have to get tough on the sentencing that we have now to try and stop it.'

Samuel Davidson (pictured being taken away in handcuffs and shirtless) was arrested at the scene and remains in custody. He did not appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday and has been refused bail until his next court appearance in April

Samuel Davidson (pictured being taken away in handcuffs and shirtless) was arrested at the scene and remains in custody. He did not appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday and has been refused bail until his next court appearance in April 

The Today host (centre) interviewed One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (left) this morning about the horrific crash at Oatlands in Sydney's north-west on Saturday

The Today host (centre) interviewed One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (left) this morning about the horrific crash at Oatlands in Sydney's north-west on Saturday

'For a person to go out and have one or two beers after work, they're not a menace on the road. So to reduce it to zero, I don't think that's fair.'

'I think for those people who just want to have one or two beers, I think they should be entitled to have that.'

The legal blood-alcohol concentration limit for driving in Australia is currently 0.05 per cent. 

Calls for the overhaul of drink-driving laws have come from Dr John Crozier of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Dr Crozier said the government should follow in the footsteps of European countries such as Slovakia and Romania, where the legal limit is 0.00, or Scandinavian countries, where it has been lowered to 0.02.

'We have it as a requirement for all commercial drivers and poignant deaths like this, it's reasonable to further explore whether we should have a zero blood-alcohol requirement for all drivers,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

Stefanovic said he was left devastated when he watched news coverage of the crash on Saturday. 

Pictured: Antony Abdallah, 13, killed in the horror crash as he and his siblings went to get ine cream on Saturday evening in Sydney's western suburbs
A schoolgirl who was killed alongside her three cousins was identified as 11-year-old Veronique Sakr. Veronique's family said in the statement released on Sunday they were 'devastated' by the loss of 'our beautiful girl' in the horrific crash

Pictured: Antony Abdallah (left), 13, who was killed in the horror crash alongside his 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr (right)

Pictured: Angelina Abdallah, 12, (left) who was also killed when they were allegedly hit by a drunk driver allegedly three times over the legal drink-drive limit
Gone too soon: Sienna Abdallah, eight, (pictured) was described by her father Daniel as his 'little diva' as he spoke to reporters the morning after the horrific crash

Pictured: Angelina Abdallah (left) 12, killed in the horror crash as she and her siblings went to get ice cream on Saturday evening in Sydney's western suburbs. Her younger sister Sienna (far right) eight, was also killed 

Their father Daniel Abdallah (pictured addressing media) broke down in tears outside his home on Sunday and said he was 'numb' after losing three children

Their father Daniel Abdallah (pictured addressing media) broke down in tears outside his home on Sunday and said he was 'numb' after losing three children

The father-of-three said: 'If they were my children who had been knocked over by someone who was driving allegedly at 0.15, three times over the legal limit, I would not care if that person never saw the light of day again.

'Pauline is 100 per cent right. There needs to be tougher sentencing. How else are we going to stop this from happening?'

Driver Samuel Davidson is facing 25 years in prison but Senator Hanson called for even tougher sentencing laws and said: 'Throw away the key for the rest of his life.'

Last night it emerged the alleged drunk is the son of a retired police detective and had allegedly been drinking at home with friends before the tragedy.

Mr Abdallah and his wife Leila had had six children. Three of his kids, and the daughter of his cousin, were killed on Saturday

Mr Abdallah and his wife Leila had had six children. Three of his kids, and the daughter of his cousin, were killed on Saturday

The mother (centre) of the three siblings killed folded her arms as she arrived at the scene on Sunday morning, after the children's father Daniel Abdallah said he was 'numb' from their deaths

The mother (centre) of the three siblings killed folded her arms as she arrived at the scene on Sunday morning, after the children's father Daniel Abdallah said he was 'numb' from their deaths

Davidson has been charged with 20 offences including four counts of manslaughter and high-range drink driving.

The 29-year-old builder was allegedly three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit when his Mistubishi Triton mounted the kerb and slammed into a group of seven children on a footpath.

Siblings Antony Abdallah, 13, Angelina Abdallah, 12, Sienna Abdallah, eight, and their 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr were killed.

Three others were seriously injured, including an 11-year-old boy and two girls, aged 10 and 13, who were taken to Westmead Children's Hospital. The boy remains in a serious but stable condition and both girls are stable.

The seven children, all from the same extended family, had been walking to buy ice cream when they were struck just before 8pm on Bettington Road, one of the main thoroughfares through Oatlands.

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Pauline Hanson slams calls for a zero blood alcohol limit for ALL drivers after deaths of four kids

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