Scott Driscoll is but the latest absent MP to leave a stain on Queensland Parliament MISSING IN ACTION: Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll has failed to attend Parliament since March. IT'S been 144 years since someone has embarrassed the Queensland Parliament as much as Scott Driscoll. The embattled Redcliffe MP's failure to show up in Parliament since March reflects on all politicians. And it has exposed the poor rules that they apply to themselves. Former Labor MP Robert Poole's frequent trips to Thailand to visit his wife severely embarrassed the Beattie government in the mid-2000s. But not even Poole had a record of skipping his parliamentary duties for the length of time Driscoll has. You'd probably have to look back as far as 1869 to find a politician who has bested Driscoll in this department. The infamous honour belongs to John Bright who, after being elected, never took his seat once. In fact, Bright is believed to have never visited Australia in his lifetime. He was an English radical who won a by-election for the state seat of Kennedy by one vote in 1869 on the back of a north Queensland separatist movement. After a year of Bright not showing up (it's not clear if he even knew he had been elected), the seat was declared vacant as the Constitution required and a by-election held. Thankfully, Queensland politicians have reined in the rules and Driscoll cannot go missing in action for 12 months before someone acts. Yet these rules are still incredibly generous compared to the average workplace. Politicians can miss a dozen sitting days before they have to seek the Speaker's approval for further leave. That's sitting days of Parliament, not working days. NO SHOW: John Bright was elected as the Member for Kennedy in 1869 but never made it to Australia. Effectively, Driscoll will have had about 11 weeks between performing his last parliamentary duties to when he is finally required to lodge an official reason for his absence on June 6, two days after the state Budget. If he fails to do so, Driscoll can be declared in contempt of Parliament, a serious charge that carries jail terms and monetary fines. But a simple letter to the Speaker will suffice and from there his leave can be further extended to 21 sitting days, which means he would have been relieved of parliamentary duties for five months. At that point, it would be the majority of MPs who would decide his fate. Given there is no love lost between Driscoll and the LNP, chances are he is likely to follow in Bright's footsteps and be ejected for not turning up. Yet compare this to the average worker who is required to produce a medical certificate if they have two consecutive days off. Driscoll has stated that his absence is due to an undisclosed illness being suffered by his wife and doctors have ordered he remain close by in case of emergency. While this is no reflection on his wife's illness, it's hard to fathom just what Driscoll's role would be if this occurred. He's not a qualified medical professional, although the fast Ford he cruises around in may be handy in an emergency. Being a politician is a position of privilege and many of the seemingly salubrious perks they receive are actually important. But it is also a position of immense responsibility that those elected should respect. Driscoll needs to make a decision. He either must quit because he can no longer fulfil his role or he must turn up for the next sitting, which is Budget day on June 4. And someone - the Government, Opposition, minor parties or Independents - needs to introduce legislation to change the rules relating to missing MPs. Bright was well regarded in England from both sides of politics when he died in 1889. But he left a dubious mark on the Queensland Parliament that should never be allowed to be repeated. Steven Wardill is The Courier-Mail's state political editor Email Steven Wardill