DOCSLIB.ORG

Australian Bio-Whitrod.Indd

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Australian Bio-Whitrod.Indd AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY RAY STUDY GUIDE CATHERINE SHIRLEY WHITROD SERIES 8 (1915-2003 ) Policeman INTRODUCTION ISSUE 29 ISSUE his program is an episode of Australian Biography (Series 8) produced by the Na- He took a strong AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION SCREEN AUSTRALIAN tional Interest Program of Film Australia. This well-established series profiles some Tof the most extraordinary Australians of our time. Many have had a major impact stance against on the nation’s cultural, political and social life. All are remarkable and inspiring people who have reached a stage in their lives where they can look back and reflect. Through corruption and revealing in-depth interviews, they share their stories - of beginnings and challenges, landmarks and turning points. In so doing, they provide us with an invaluable archival was dedicated record and a unique perspective on the roads we, as a country, have travelled. to improving SYNOPSIS standards and lifting the level of educa- standards and tion within the force. In this interview, Ray Ray Whitrod came to national prominence looks back over a long and distinguished when he resigned as Queensland’s Com- career, giving a fascinating insight into lifting the level of missioner of Police as a protest against police culture. corruption. It was a very public stand that education within 1 enhanced his reputation as an officer of Born in Adelaide in 1915, his memories unusual integrity, dedicated to improving of childhood are marked by his family’s the force. ABOVE: RAY WHITROD IN 2001 8 AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY RAY WHITROD Great Depression, an economic slump which started in the US & Europe in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. The Depression affected all world economies and rendered millions of workers jobless. By 1932 the total value of world trade had fallen by more than half. QUESTIONS 1. List the effects of the Depression on the Australian economy and work- force. 2. How did the Australian Government deal with unemployment of such a massive scale? 3. What effect did the Depression have on the education of average Austral- ians? 4. How, internationally, did the Depres- sion affect politics and the rise of extremist forces? BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT poverty - always leaving the table hun- 1976, he quit in outrage after Premier Jo THE COLD WAR AND THE FORMATION gry, embarrassed at school by his cast- Bjelke-Petersen insisted on promoting of- OF ASIO off clothes. Like many others during the ficers who were known to be corrupt. The Depression, he took a swag to the country resulting public controversy eventually led The Australian Security Intelligence Or- looking for any job he could get - a time to the infamous Fitzgerald Inquiry. ganisation (ASIO) is Australia’s security he describes as his lowest point. service. Australia had several security After retirement, Ray Whitrod continued organisations between 1915 and 1949, Things changed when he met Mavis, his commitment to serve the Australian beginning with the formation of a branch seven years his senior and a teacher. public. He lectured in criminology at the of the British ‘Central Counter-Espionage She gave him a much-needed boost in Australian National University, worked Bureau’ as part of an Empire-wide ap- confidence and her parents encouraged with cancer patients, visited prisons paratus. him to apply for the police force, where and, together with his wife Mavis, was he was immediately made a detective due the driving force behind the establish- In the late 1940s the formation of the to the matriculation level he had attained ment of the South Australian Victims of Soviet Bloc under the Warsaw Pact at high school. Crime Service. generated widespread public fear of a third World War and the era of Cold War With the advent of World War Two, Ray CURRICULUM LINKS confrontation began. joined the RAAF as a navigator. He had a hard time readjusting to family life after Australian Biography: Ray Whitrod will On 16th March, 1949, Prime Minister Ben four intense years of fighting, but by the have interest and relevance for students Chifley directed that a security service be late 1940s, with the Cold War at its peak, from middle to senior secondary levels. established to counter security leaks from Ray had settled down into a new role, Curriculum links include English, Modern a ‘spy ring’ operating in Australia, which helping to set up the Australian Security History, Politics, Citizenship and Society was being run from the Soviet Embassy. Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Life Skills, Society and Culture, Media Studies and Legal Studies. [Today] ASIO’s main role is to gather infor- Other appointments included head of the mation and produce intelligence that will Commonwealth Investigation Service, BEFORE WATCHING enable it to warn the government about which he helped transform into the Fed- activities or situations that might endan- eral Police, and Police Commissioner in HISTORICAL & LEGAL CONTEXT ger Australia’s national security. The ASIO New Guinea before he accepted the con- Act defines ‘security’ as the protection of troversial Queensland posting in 1970. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT Australia and its people from espionage, AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION THE GREAT DEPRESSION sabotage, politically motivated violence, His reform efforts met with strong op- the promotion of communal violence, at- ISSUE 29 position, both from within the force and Ray Whitrod’s early life and outlook were tacks on Australia’s defence system, and the Queensland Government. Finally, in affected by his experiences during the acts of foreign interference. 2 RAY WHITROD WITH HIS WIFE MAVIS ASIO focuses on terrorists, people who THE FITZGERALD INQUIRY INTO POLICE point that as contact with members of may act violently for political reasons, CORRUPTION the public tended to be in situations of and people who may clandestinely obtain distress, conflict and hostility, members sensitive government information (spies) One of the most dramatic lapses in tended to retain the views and attitudes or otherwise harm Australia’s interests in institutional and personal integrity in they brought into the Force. These atti- order to further their own causes or the contemporary Australia was in the State tudes became internalized, so that after interests of foreign governments.1 of Queensland during the 1970s and years of service they became inflexible 1980s. and outdated. By this time they had DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS usually been promoted to a position of In 1989, the Fitzgerald report set aside power. 1. Discuss the threat posed to Australia a whole chapter dealing with the notion by the Cold War, and how it was dif- of a ‘Police Culture’. The report detailed The existence of a siege mentality in some ferent in nature and threat from the that as most police are recruited as school police cultures results in an emphasis of previous World Wars. leavers, they enter an environment where crime control over crime prevention, 2. Discuss the concept of the protection they work and socialize almost exclusively thereby isolating the police from the of the State by the establishment of with team mates. Fitzgerald made the communities and the people they serve. a national security organisation within Australia. 3. Compare and contrast the original need for ASIO with its current role. 4. What are the checks and balances that need to be in place in a democ- racy when a security organisation is operating? BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT POLICING AND POWER Policing is a form of social control – “ac- tivities directed at preserving the security of a particular social order. 2 The reality is that the police fulfill a diver- sity of functions: including crime control, traffic control, combating terrorism. Underlying all their actions however is the power to wield legal sanctions and ultimately use force. What clearly distinguishes the police is their legitimate right to use force - as the repository of the states monopolization of coercive powers in society. 3 DISCUSSION AND ACTIVITIES 1. Discuss the relationship between police and citizens, outlining what ISSUE 29 a society should ideally expect of its police. AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION 2. Discuss the role of education in as- sisting police to manage their jobs on a day to day basis. 3. Research background material that has been written about contemporary policing issues, paying particular at- tention to the groups in society who feel that they attract an undue amount of attention from police. 3 RAY WHITROD IN RAAF UNIFORM 8 AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY RAY WHITROD It moves police work in line with a re-ac- THE PLACE OF THE BIOGRAPHY IN the Victims of Crime Rights Bill tive stance, as opposed to the desirable CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY that Ray set up through the United pro-active position. Nations? In what ways is this UN Oral History is information about the past declaration important? When Sergeant Raymond Well Whitrod collected by interviewing people about • Find out about recent legal re- took over as Police Minister on 1 Septem- their lives. It is an important source of forms regarding victims of crime ber 1970 his main aim for his three year information for family and personal his- in your state or territory. term was to attempt to make corruption tory. Oral History interviews are pieces • Discuss the ’new’ concept of practically obsolete. This however was not of historical evidence of a person’s past Restorative Justice. What is its to be the case, mainly due to the strong experience or of events in their lives. It focus and primary assumptions? ‘broderbond’ nature of the Queensland can be used with other pieces of evi- Much of the original ideas of Re- police force. Of the eighteen charges of dence such as photographs and entries storative Justice are based upon criminal nature against police officers that from diaries. 5 community justice processes Whitrod sought, every one of these failed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HISTORY GROUP NEWSLETTER ISSN 1443-4962 No
    Dungog Chronicle office (NSW), ca early 1900s. AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HISTORY GROUP NEWSLETTER ISSN 1443-4962 No. 52 May 2009 Publication details Compiled for the Australian Newspaper History Group by Rod Kirkpatrick, 59 Emperor Drive, Andergrove, Qld, 4740. Ph. 61-7-4955 7838. Email: [email protected] Contributing editors are Victor Isaacs, of Canberra, and Barry Blair, of Tamworth. Deadline for the next Newsletter: 15 July 2009. Subscription details appear at end of Newsletter. [Number 1 appeared October 1999.] The Newsletter is online through the ‘Publications’ link of the University of Queensland’s School of Journalism & Communication Website at www.uq.edu.au/sjc/ and through the ePrint Archives at the University of Queensland at http://espace.uq.edu.au/) New ANHG books/CDs on sale – see final page 1 – CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS: NATIONAL & METROPOLITAN 52.1.1 REVERSE TAKEOVER OF FAIRFAX MEDIA COMPLETED Rural Press Ltd‟s reverse takeover of Fairfax Media Ltd has been completed. Brian McCarthy, as Fairfax CEO, has put former Rural Press executives in charge of the major areas of Fairfax. McCarthy was Rural Press CEO under chairman John B. Fairfax, who is now the biggest single Fairfax Media shareholder. In the new regime, Fairfax Media‟s metropolitan mastheads will take over responsibility for its key online classified brands as part of McCarthy‟s move to more closely integrate the group‟s print and internet advertising revenue models. The management restructure seeks to position the group more along functional lines and less on geographic lines. McCarthy has abolished his own former position as Fairfax deputy chief executive and head of Australian newspapers.
    [Show full text]
  • 1987 Queensland Cabinet Minutes Queensland State Archives
    1987 Queensland Cabinet Minutes Queensland State Archives 1987 timeline 1 November 1986 National Party wins election in its own right ( 1983 relied upon defection of two Liberals) 12 January 1987 Phil Dickie article in the Courier Mail in which he identifies two main groups running Queensland’s thriving sex industry. 31 January 1987 Bjelke-Petersen launches Joh for PM campaign at Wagga Wagga. 7 February 1987 Bjelke-Petersen reported in Courier Mail as saying PM job ‘down the road’. 13 February 1987 Meeting between Ian Sinclair (federal parliamentary leader of the National Party) and Bjelke-Petersen. Lasted only 30 mins and Bjelke-Petersen refused to call a ‘truce’ with the federal LNP opposition. He also addressed public meeting in Alice Springs claiming it as the venue where the ‘war’ began…as opposed to Wagga Wagga where the Joh for PM campaign was launched. 21 February 1987 The Courier Mail reports on the Savage Committee report on red tape reduction before Cabinet – recommending a formal review of Local Government Act with representatives of Public Service Board, LGA, BCC, Urban Development Institute & Queensland Confederation of Industry. In a separate article, Lord Mayor Atkinson supports findings of Savage Report. 27 February 1987 Queensland National Party Central Council voted to withdraw from federal coalition. ( Courier Mail 28/2/87) 14 March 1987 Courier Mail reports Queensland has highest unemployment rate, lowest job vacancy rate, highest fall in residential building starts (Senator Garry Jones (ALP)) 5 April 1987 Advertisement depicting the Grim Reaper knocking down a diverse range of people like pins in a bowling alley was first screened , kicking off the Commonwealth’s public response to the AIDS epidemic 10 April 1987 National Party Queensland, State Management Committee ordered Queensland’s federal members to leave the coalition.
    [Show full text]
  • Griffith University – Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program
    Griffith University – Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program THE FITZGERALD COLLECTION An Exhibition of artwork and memorabilia Queensland College of Art College Gallery, Tribune Street, South Bank 29 July 2009 – 9 August 2009 Recollections and Stories The Griffith University – Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program looks forward, with a biennial public lecture and scholarship program aimed at building skills and awareness in future practitioners and researchers who will carry the responsibility for protecting our future system of parliamentary democracy. For this inaugural year, it is useful to glance backwards, to explore how those now acknowledging this 20th anniversary year, remember this period of our history and how it contributed to the experiences of academics and researchers, artists and public expression. The exhibition focuses on Mr Fitzgerald’s personal collection of memorabilia and the influence that the Inquiry had upon Griffith University’s staff and alumni. The stories and commentary in the pages that follow have been provided by those associated in some way with Mr Fitzgerald’s items, or with Griffith University. They represent only a small sample of Queensland’s collective memory. The additional pages following include recollections and stories to accompany the exhibits and, during the exhibition period, can be found on the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance website: http://www.griffith.edu.au/tonyfitzgeraldlecture We know that there are other recollections and memorabilia not included in this collection, but which are a vital contribution to our social history. The State Library of Queensland is starting a specific collection to capture materials and stories from this period and we urge Queenslanders to make contact with SLQ to ensure that their items and memories can be included for future generations.
    [Show full text]
  • Poking Fun in a Police State State Library of Queensland 5 November 2011 — 25 March 2012 Welcome to Cane Toad Times Poking Fun in a Police State
    CANE TOAD TIMES Poking fun in a police state State Library of Queensland 5 November 2011 — 25 March 2012 Welcome to CANE TOAD TIMES Poking fun in a police state The exhibition, Cane Toad Times: Poking fun in a police “My head was full of state, showcases original issues of Cane Toad Times crazy ideas about social publications as the centrepiece of an unfolding cultural justice, but before we history created by a collective of individuals who charged the barricades, sought to expose a hidden Brisbane. During a time that saw street marching banned, the demolition a good dose of ridicule of heritage buildings, corrupt police and the tightening grip of a was required.” conservative government, Cane Toad Times offered an alternative D eb Brown, philosophy lecturer at view of Queensland. “This view conflicted with the then ‘official’ view, University of Queensland, but was nevertheless tinged with a sense of nostalgia, with genuine former Cane Toad Times contributor feelings for the place where most of the contributors either lived or grew up” (Simon Stocks). With stories called Death of a Prostitute, Queensland Politics — Trust Honest Greed, A Cute Psychotic State, Kicking the Sunbeam and Expo Aversion Therapy, the Cane Toad Times contributors embraced satire and popular culture in their irreverent storytelling whilst exploring the issues, events and problems predominantly misrepresented by mainstream media. Indeed, the Cane Toad Times contributors anticipated the rise of Citizen Journalism with their street-press style magazine that responded to the eroding trust in the Left: item 3 Below: item 52 (detail) media and public disillusionment with politics and civic affairs.
    [Show full text]
  • Attitudes of Selected Groups Toward Media Coverage of the Fitzgerald Inquiry on Police Corruption in Queensland
    Attitudes of selected groups toward media coverage of the Fitzgerald Inquiry on Police Corruption in Queensland. by Bernie Murchison B.Bus. (Comn) Master of Business (Communication) Thesis School of Communication Queensland University of Technology February 1989 To the Librarian, Queensland University of Technology Name: Bernard John MURCHISON Address: Title of thesis: ATTITUDES OF SELECTED GROUPS TOWARDS MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE FITZGERALD INQUIRY ON POLICE CORRUPTION IN QUEENSLAND. A. I wish consultation of this thesis to be restricted only to staff and students of the Q.U.T. for three years after the degree has been awarded. B. I give pennission to the Librarian of the Queensland University of Technology to photocopy this thesis on the condition that I am subsequently notified of the person or organisation to whom this copy has been supplied. Signature: Date: .. ...... ~J.1.~i The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at any other tertiary educational institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signed: Date: ......... .2:11 :#.f ... ABSTRACT This study uses primary research in the form of Q Methodology to identify attitudes toward media coverage of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. Interviews were conducted with representatives of three distinct classes of people; senior journalists, opinion leaders and communication students. Opinion statements were extracted from these interviews and 44 Q statements were developed to measure attitudes of 47 respondents. Unlike many other forms of media research, no fixed definitions were prescribed and respondents subjective viewpoints, or ways of seeing an issue, were simply collated.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of the Queensland Parliament, 1957–1989
    15 . The implosion of Joh Bjelke- Petersen, 1983–1987 The 1983 election ended the ‘constitutional crisis’ by providing the Nationals with exactly half the seats in the Parliament (41) and the opportunity to supplement their ministry with Liberal ministerialists who would agree to join the new government. The Premier had a number of options to secure his majority. Many of the surviving former Liberal ministers were not generally regarded as ‘anti-coalitionists’ in the previous government. The six potential ministerialists who might have been persuaded to change allegiances were: Norm Lee, Bill Lickiss, Brian Austin, Don Lane, Colin Miller and even Bill Knox. According to the Courier-Mail (15 July 1983), when two Coalition backbenchers, Bill Kaus and Bob Moore, had quit the Liberals and joined the Nationals in July, two Liberal ministers, Norm Lee and Bill Lickiss, already had indicated they would consider jumping ship. It was almost as if a race to defect was on. The two other Liberals to survive the 1983 poll, Terry White and Angus Innes, would not have been acceptable to the Premier and his senior ministers. In total, six of the eight Liberals had been ministers (although Miller had served for just 13 days after White was sacked and before the resignations of all the Liberals were accepted). Knox had been a minister since 1965 and Lee and Lickiss had been ministers since early 1975. They had some pedigree. Austin and Lane (and White) each had one parliamentary term as minister. Two Liberals, however, took the issue into their own hands. The day after the election, Austin and Lane had discussed the prospects of defecting and swapping parties, with Austin saying ‘I’m sick of this…I reckon we ought to give ’em the arse.
    [Show full text]
  • Nigel Powell
    CCC public forum: Making allegations of corrupt conduct public: Is it in the public interest? CRIME AND CORRUPTION COMMISSION MAKING ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPT CONDUCT PUBLIC: IS IT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST? TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC FORUM Conducted at CCC Brisbane, 6 and 7 October 2016 The CCC holds the official records of the public forum transcripts. The transcript is not the official record and is authorised for viewing only. The transcript is uncorrected and may contain some errors. The CCC does not authorise the transcript being altered in any way for any purpose. Panel members: Mr Alan MacSporran QC CCC Chairperson and Panel Chair Mr Marshall Irwin CCC Ordinary Commissioner Mr Richard Bingham Queensland Integrity Commissioner Dr Rebecca Denning CCC Director, Policy and Research Speaker: Mr Nigel Powell Speaker: Nigel POWELL Page 1 of 11 CCC public forum: Making allegations of corrupt conduct public: Is it in the public interest? Mr MacSporran QC Mr POWELL. Just for the record can you give us your full name? Mr Powell Nigel Donald POWELL. Mr MacSporran QC Thank you. Mr Powell Guys, thanks. Thanks for this. I was late to the thing. I didn’t realise this was on and a few dot points I managed to scramble together and you’ve put them up on your website and I thank you for that. And it’s great to have the opportunity to talk about stuff. I guess I wouldn’t mind just doing something I like – I’ve spoken in public before about some of these issues that you’ve been touching on and I always try and explain the context, because I think it’s important.
    [Show full text]
  • Fitzgerald S Impact on the International Anti-Corruption
    From Deep North to International Governance Exemplar: Fitzgerald's Impact on the International Anti-Corruption Movement Author Sampford, Charles Published 2009 Journal Title Griffith Law Review Copyright Statement © 2009 Griffith Law School. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/33845 Link to published version https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rlaw20/18/3?nav=tocList Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au FROM DEEP NORTH TO INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE EXEMPLAR Fitzgeraldʼs Impact on the International Anti-Corruption Movement Charles Sampford * In pre-Fitzgerald Queensland, the existence of corruption was widely known but its extent and modes of operation were not fully evident. The Fitzgerald Report identified the need for reform of the structure, procedures and efficiency in public administration in Queensland. What was most striking in the Queensland reform process was that a new model for combatting corruption had been developed. Rather than rely upon a single law and a single institution, existing institutions were strengthened and new institutions were introduced to create a set of mutually supporting and mutually checking institutions, agencies and laws that jointly sought to improve governmental standards and combat corruption. Some of the reforms were either unique to Queensland or very rare. One of the strengths of this approach was that it avoided creating a single over-arching institution to fight corruption. There are many powerful opponents of reform. Influential institutions and individuals resist any interference with their privileges.
    [Show full text]
  • Debunking Dreyfus on Free Speech and Freedom
    Disclaimer : Nothing in this letter should be construed as threatening nor advocating unlawful acts. Suspects are innocent until the facts against them are proven and convicted in a court of justice. This does not discuss the contents of the current super-injunction. Debunking Dreyfus on Free Speech and Freedom Author: Brendan Jones Brisbane, QLD, Australia E-mail: [email protected] Being an Open Letter to ALP Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus MP QC regarding his speech to the HRC Free Speech 2014 Symposium Cc: Director-General of Security – ASIO, David Irvine (pp. 62-65) Online at: http://victimsofdsto.com/debunking-drefyus/ Page 1 of 66(218) September 10(11), 2014 NoFibs Journalist: “I’m a strong free speech advocate ... So I’m thrilled that shadow Attorney General Mark Dreyfus QC has taken a stand and wish him success in the long hard climb ahead.” 98 Brendan Jones: “Mr. Dreyfus is no advocate for free speech, but the fact that he has convinced you he is – and in just one short speech – has persuaded me he’s a first class barrister.” 98 Journalist Martin Hirst: “I loved that he rubbed their pretty little noses in it. He made the point strongly that the so-called “marketplace of ideas” is a conservative myth that bears little relation to reality.” 98 133 Brendan Jones: “All Dreyfus did was say he rejected it. He never explained why. Google "Sophistry"” 98 131 US Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo: ‘Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.’ US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis: “Those who won our independence believed that the final end of the State was to make men free to develop their faculties, and that in its government the deliberative forces should prevail over the arbitrary.
    [Show full text]
  • Detoxifying Queensland's Political System
    Enduring change: Detoxifying Queensland's political system Author Williams, Paul Published 2019 Book Title Griffith Review 65 Crimes and Punishments Version Accepted Manuscript (AM) Copyright Statement © 2019 Griffith University & the Author. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. It is posted here with permission of the copyright owner(s) for your personal use only. No further distribution permitted. For information about this journal please refer to the journal’s website or contact the author(s). Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/396903 Link to published version https://www-griffithreview-com/articles/enduring-change/ Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au Enduring change: Detoxifying Queensland's political system By Paul D Williams Public inquiries and their subsequent reports suffer chequered histories in Australia. Some disappear with nary a trace, while others go on to effect real and lasting change. Why some inquiries succeed and others fail largely depends on the political context and public mood at an inquiry’s calling, the breadth of that inquiry’s terms of reference, the comprehensiveness of its recommendations and the political will of governments to act on those recommendations. There’s little doubt, for example, that Australians today hope the recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission into the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, released in February this year, will not just curtail sharp practice, but force financial institutions to treat clients as people first and customers second. This July marked exactly thirty years since one of Australia’s most far- reaching reports was handed down. Officially titled the Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct, the Fitzgerald report brought lasting, monumental change to Queensland public life.
    [Show full text]
  • FOI History in Queensland
    RECORD KEEPERS FORUM 29TH SEPTEMBER 2009 FOI History in Queensland The then Deputy Premier Bill Gunn ordered a judicial inquiry headed by Tony Fitzgerald QC when the Premier of 18 years, Joh Bjelke-Petersen was out of the state pursuing his Joh for Canberra campaign. The inquiry was ordered in response to a series of articles on high level police corruption in The Courier Mail by reporter Phil Dickie and the Four Corners report by Chris Masters called “The Moonlight State”. During the Inquiry a Licensing Branch sergeant Harry Burgess implicated Jack Herbert and Assistant Commissioner Graeme Parker. Parker confessed and implicated police commissioner Sir Terry Lewis. Herbert was the bagman collecting bribes for Lewis who had been the bagman for former commissioner Frank Bischof. The inquiry led to the jailing of the police commissioner and government Ministers. Don “Shady” Lane and Brian Austin wen to jail for misuse of allowances and expenses. The Minister for Everything Russ Hinze died before he was tried for accepting a bribe. Bjelke-Petersen was tried but acquitted due to a hung jury. The identifying of corrupt individuals was an important outcome however Fitzgerald’s lasting legacy was the blue print laid out in the Inquiry’s report handed to the Government in 1989 to rebuild public confidence in our democratic institutions, particularly the police, the Parliament and the bureaucracy. The blue print for reform recommended the establishment of the Criminal Justice Commission. In doing so the report said that it is important to recognise that much more than just a crime commission was needed.
    [Show full text]
  • National Conference of Parliamentary Oversight Committees of Anti-Corruption/Crime Bodies 2003
    JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES OF ANTI-CORRUPTION/CRIME BODIES 2003 Report No. 7 36th Parliament 2003 JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION Published by the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Western Australia, Perth, December 2003. Printed by the Government Printer, State Law Publisher, Western Australia. Joint Standing Committee on the Anti-Corruption Commission National Conference of Parliamentary Oversight Committees of Anti-Corruption/Crime Bodies 2003. ISBN: 1 920830 19 7 (Series: Western Australia. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Committees. Joint Standing Committee on the Anti-Corruption Commission. Report 7) 328.365 Copies available from: State Law Publisher 10 William Street PERTH WA 6000 Telephone: (08) 9321 7688 Facsimile: (08) 9321 7536 Email: [email protected] Copies available on-line: www.parliament.wa.gov.au JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES OF ANTI-CORRUPTION/CRIME BODIES 2003 Report No. 7 Presented by: Hon Derrick Tomlinson, MLC Mr John Hyde, MLA Laid on the Table of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly on 4 December 2003 JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION COMMITTEE MEMBERS Chairman Hon Derrick Tomlinson, MLC Member for East Metropolitan Deputy Chairman Mr J.N. Hyde, MLA Member for Perth Members Dr E. Constable, MLA Member for Churchlands Mrs C.L. Edwardes, MLA Member
    [Show full text]