The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted in the resignation of Queensland's premier,

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005), known as Joh Bjelke-Petersen, was a conservative Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during ...

, the calling of two by-elections, the jailing of three former ministers and the Police Commissioner (who also lost his knighthood). It also contributed to the end of the

National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fed ...

's 32-year run as the governing political party in Queensland.

History

The inquiry was established in response to a series of articles by reporter

Phil Dickie Philip John Dickie (born 1955) is an Australian journalist. Career Dickie commenced his journalism career with the Australian National University student newspaper ''Woroni'', serving as editor while studying forestry, politics, economics, socio ...

in ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northe ...

'' about high-level police corruption, followed by a '' Four Corners'' television report on the same issue, by Chris Masters, entitled "The Moonlight State", which aired on 11 May 1987. Both investigations dealt with illegal prostitution and gambling, aided by police corruption. With

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

's Premier of 18 years,

, out of the state, his deputy, Bill Gunn, ordered a commission of inquiry the day after the television report was broadcast. The allegations aired in the media were not new. They had surfaced from time to time, and some news organisations had been forced to pay damages to aggrieved people who alleged their reputations had been damaged (Bjelke-Petersen himself was notoriously litigious in response to unfavourable press coverage). The government was reported to have initially preferred District Court Judge Eric Pratt, chair of the controversial Police Complaints Tribunal and a close friend of Police Commissioner Lewis, to head the inquiry, which led to fears by journalists that it would be a whitewash. After consulting the legal profession, Attorney-General Paul Clauson opposed Pratt as unsuitable and he was removed from consideration. The government then approached Ian Callinan to head the inquiry, but he refused on the basis that he was perceived to be too close to the government. Callinan recommended Fitzgerald as a suitable head. He also drafted the terms of reference for the inquiry and represented the Queensland Government before it. While the terms of reference were initially narrow, restricted only to the specific allegations raised against specific persons named in the media over a period of just five years, Fitzgerald used his moral authority to expand the inquiry to examine any relevant matter. As a result, the terms of reference of the Commission were extended twice. That enabled Fitzgerald to set a precedent for commissions of inquiry and Royal Commissions in Australia generally, using innovative methods, such as indemnities from prosecution for key witnesses, to secure vital evidence. He began formal hearings on 27 July 1987. The inquiry was initially expected to last about six weeks; it instead spent almost two years conducting a comprehensive investigation of long-term, systemic political corruption and abuse of power in Queensland. Public sittings were held on 238 days, hearing testimony from 339 witnesses. On 28 August, a Licensing Branch sergeant, Harry Burgess confessed to corruption, and implicated Jack Herbert, and assistant commissioner Graeme Parker. In turn, Parker implicated police commissioner Terry Lewis on 16 September. The inquiry eventually outlived the Bjelke-Petersen government. Mike Ahern became the new Premier after Bjelke-Petersen was deposed by his own party. Evidence revealed by the investigation, including testimony from Bjelke-Petersen himself, caused significant political damage and led to a power struggle within the National Party. Bjelke-Petersen resigned as Premier after an unsuccessful attempt to have the

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

sack all of his ministers after they had deposed him as party leader. The inquiry's special prosecutor was Doug Drummond QC. It was Drummond who decided not to retry Bjelke-Petersen after a

hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. ...

had failed to convict him of corruption and

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

Findings

Fitzgerald's report was submitted on 3 July 1989. As a result, a number of high-profile politicians were charged with crimes, and Queensland Police Commissioner Terry Lewis was charged with corruption. Bjelke-Petersen himself was put on trial for perjury in respect of evidence he gave to the inquiry. The jury in the case was deadlocked, bringing about a mistrial. In 1992, it was revealed that the jury foreman, Luke Shaw, was a member of the Young Nationals, was identified with the "Friends of Joh" movement and had misrepresented the state of deliberations to the judge. According to an ABC TV analysis: "A later inquiry conducted by Justice Bill Carter found the selection process had been manipulated by ... ex-police officers ... helping to put Joh before a jury led by Young Nationals member, Luke Shaw". A special prosecutor announced in 1992 there would be no retrial because Sir Joh, then aged 81, was too old. Jack Herbert had been the bagman, collecting bribes for police commissioner Terry Lewis from 1980. Lewis himself had been a bagman for former commissioner Francis Bischof. Lewis was convicted (and subsequently stripped of his

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

). Leisha Harvey, a former health minister, was charged with misappropriating of public funds as part of an investigation resulting from the findings of the inquiry. She spent one year in jail. Don Lane, a former transport minister, was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment for falsifying expense accounts. Lane's resignation resulted in the

1989 Merthyr state by-election The 1989 Merthyr state by-election was a by-election held on 13 May 1989 for the Queensland Legislative Assembly seat of Merthyr, based in the inner Brisbane suburb of New Farm. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of National MP an ...

. Brian Austin, another former health minister, was convicted of misappropriating public funds. The resignation of senior minister Russell Hinze, after damaging allegations were made against him during the inquiry, led to the

1988 South Coast state by-election A by-election was held in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of South Coast on 28 August 1988. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting National Party member Russ Hinze. The seat was retained by the National Party with the election ...

. The Queensland Police Special Bureau was formed on 30 July 1940 and renamed Special Branch on 7 April 1948. It was criticised for being used for political purposes by the

Bjelke-Petersen Bjelke-Petersen is the name of an Australian family of Danish descent. The common ancestors of the Australian family are Georg Peter Bjelke-Petersen (born c. 1845), a Danish farmer and master-builder, and his wife Caroline Vilhelmine (maiden nam ...

government in the 1970s and 1980s, for example, enforcing laws against protests, sometimes outnumbering the protesters or using provocateurs to incite violence so the protesters could be arrested, and investigating and harassing political opponents. Following a recommendation by the Fitzgerald Inquiry, the Special Branch was disbanded in 1989, having destroyed its records before Fitzgerald could

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

them. In large part due to public anger over the revelations in the Fitzgerald report, the National Party was heavily defeated in the December 1989 state election, which brought the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...

to power for the first time since 1957.

Recommendations

The two most significant recommendations were the establishment of the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) and the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission which was to review electoral boundaries. The need for

Freedom of Information legislation Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisf ...

in the state was noted, as was the need to review laws relating to public assembly and guidelines for the disclosure of pecuniary interests of parliamentarians. The CJC was to be responsible for investigating specific individuals mentioned during the inquiry. The police culture of the state was also criticised. Aspects such as loyalty to fellow police officers, police not enforcing laws against other police, and failure to listen to whistle-blowers, were condemned because they led to misconduct, inefficiency and contempt for the justice system. Many of the inquiry's recommendations were implemented by Wayne Goss, the first Labor Party Premier of Queensland in 32 years.

Cultural depictions

The investigation leading up to the inquiry and the inquiry itself were depicted in the 1989 TV movie ''Police State'' by

Chris Noonan Chris Noonan (born 14 November 1952) is an Australian filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the family film '' Babe'' (1995), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenpla ...

. Bjelke-Petersen's trial was later the subject of a TV movie, '' Joh's Jury''.

Margot Hutcheson Margot Hutcheson (born 15 June 1952) is a British painter, who has lived and worked in Australia and Spain. She was a partner of writer Peter Carey. Early life and education Margot Hutcheson was born in London on 15 June 1952.

painted a picture of the inquiry, ''Wasn't the Fitzgerald Inquiry Fun?''"Griffith University – Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program"
, Griffith University, 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2010. In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. ...

celebrations, the Fitzgerald Inquiry was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Defining Moment".

References

Bibliography

*Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct
"Fitzgerald Inquiry Report"
an
Appendices
Government Printer, Brisbane, 1989. *Atherton, James
Appendices to the Report
issuu, 1989, 242pp