The Royal Commission of Inquiry in respect of certain matters relating to allegations of organised crime in clubs also known as the Moffitt Royal Commission (1973–74) was one of the first

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n Royal commissions to specifically investigate the extent and activities of

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. Its common title was taken from the name of its chairperson,

NSW Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court i ...

judge Athol Moffitt.

Background

In August 1973, the New South Wales Government appointed Mr Justice Moffitt to head the Commission. It was set up to address public and media concerns about the growing extent of organised crime in NSW and to investigate specific allegations that the

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poker machine company now

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, -- which was allegedly linked to the

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in the United States—was seeking to expand its interests in Australia, and that this might act as a conduit for Mafia-style organised crime to develop and diversify in Australia. Police investigations into organised crime had been inconclusive, official reports were contradictory and often widely criticised, and both the then NSW Police Commissioner

Norman Allan Norman Thomas William Allan, (3 June 1909 – 28 January 1977) was the Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force, from 1962 to 1972. Biography A Protestant and Freemason, Allan joined the NSW Police Force in 1929, posted at Redfern. From ...

and NSW Premier

Robert Askin Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but ...

(who were themselves alleged to have been involved in organised crime) repeatedly denied that there was any sort of organised crime in NSW or that there were any corrupt links between criminals and police or government officials. Widespread allegations of official corruption in the NSW police force and the NSW government had been highlighted by a string of highly publicised scandals, notably the so-called " Arantz Affair", in which police computer expert

Phillip Arantz Philip Arantz (1929–1998) was a detective sergeant in the New South Wales Police. During the early 1970s, Arantz achieved Australian fame when he became involved in a long-running and highly publicised battle with the New South Wales governmen ...

was sacked from the NSW Police Service for leaking information to the media, after he discovered that the NSW police had systematically under-reporting crime statistics over a period of years. There was also increasing public concern about the escalation of the trade in illegal drugs in NSW in the late 1960s and early 1970s, especially in regard to the rapid growth of the

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trade. The first witness called before the Commission was investigative journalist Bob Bottom, whose media reports on organised crime had contributed to the growing pressure for a high-level investigation into these matters. Other notable witnesses included career criminal

Lenny McPherson Leonard Arthur McPherson (born Balmain, New South Wales 19 May 1921; died Cessnock, New South Wales, 28 August 1996) was one of the most notorious and powerful Australian career criminals of the late 20th century. McPherson is believed to have ...

, the man typically referred to as Sydney's "Mr Big". Shortly before his death, Justice Moffitt revealed that McPherson (who had since died) had been a paid informant to the Commission. In his final report, handed down in 1974, Justice Moffitt found there was a real danger that organised crime from overseas would infiltrate Australia. He identified the difficulties investigating organised crime presents to law enforcement agencies. Among his recommendations was a "frank and drastic review of the methods of investigation of organised crime of overseas and local origin and that particular procedures be established appropriate to this as a special class of crime"'. He further recommended that a special squad of police be trained and established to deal with aspects of organised crime and that a 'task force' method be incorporated within this special squad.

References

{{New South Wales royal commissions Organised crime in clubs, Royal Commission into Organised crime in Sydney Crime in New South Wales 1973 establishments in Australia 1974 disestablishments in Australia