Michael McCormack says ‘potent’ kava drink left him ‘cross-eyed’ with a ‘drunken feeling’ during Pacific Islands bi-partisan visit
The former deputy prime minister had one day earlier sculled five bowls of kava before he drunk a more “potent” version of the drink in Micronesia, which left him in hospital and forced to cancel the rest of his bi-partisan trip in the Pacific Islands.
Micronesia: Nationals MP Michael McCormack revealed he made the mistake of sculling a traditional Pacific Islands drink, which left him ill in hospital.
The former deputy prime minister was left “cross-eyed” and feeling drunk when he finished a bowl of kava “in one hit” on Friday while on a bi-partisan tour of the region.
He downed the brown liquid as part of a traditional ritual in front of other dignitaries, including Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Micronesia’s President David Panuelo.
Mr McCormack had one day earlier drank five coconut shells of kava during a ceremony in Vanuatu but did not feel sick afterwards.
But he was left surprised at how potent the North Pacific version of the drink is, also known as sakau, while meeting with VIPs in Micronesia.
“I drank down the whole lot in one hit,” he said.
“Now in the South Pacific, you tip some on the ground out of respect for the gods and you drink the rest in a mouthful or two, but drinking in one gulp.
“It’s not as potent as what we encountered up at Micronesia.”
The 58-year-old felt sick with a “drunken feeling” about 20 minutes later.
He described feeling “cross-eyed” from the drink which had “overwhelmingly hit me”.
Mr McCormack was then seen with his head in his hands surrounded by Australian officials as he tried to regain his composure from the potent drink.
“I was trying to be respectful - I really took one for team Australia,” he told The Guardian.
“They made it in front of us, squeezing the juice out of these massive tree roots... It had a peppery essence and I was OK for 10 to
15 minutes.”
But he then quickly turned his head to Senator Wong and mouthed “I’m not OK”.
The Nationals MP had his head in what appeared to be a bucket before he was later helped to a waiting car and taken to hospital to be treated for dehydration.
Kava is made from the root of the Kava plant and is often used for its sedative, hypnotic and muscle-relaxant effects.
Traditionally, the root is crushed then soaked in water to produce a drink for ceremonial, recreational and medicinal purposes in the Pacific Islands.
Kava was introduced to communities in the Northern Territory during the 1980s as an alternative to alcohol, but is otherwise not commonly used in Australia.
Mr McCormack added he was happy to be part of more future kava-drinking ceremonies but will be sure to be well hydrated before participating.
He was forced to cancel the final leg of the Pacific tour and returned to Australia on Friday evening while the rest of the delegation continued on to Palau.
Senator Wong took Pacific Minister Pat Conroy, shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham and Mr McCormack on the bipartisan trip to meet with dignitaries as part of the Australian Government’s commitment to work with Pacific partners.