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

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

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) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...

, the calling of two by-elections, and the jailing of three former ministers and the

Police Commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

Terry Lewis (who also lost his knighthood). It also contributed to the end of the

National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nationals or simply the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. Traditionally represe ...

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

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

History

The inquiry was established in response to a series of articles by reporter Phil Dickie 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 norther ...

'' about high-level police corruption, followed by a ''

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

'' 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's Premier of 18 years, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, out of the state, his deputy, Bill Gunn, ordered a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

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 Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

. 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 Terms of reference (TOR) define the purpose and structures of a project, committee, meeting, negotiation, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal. Terms of reference show how the object in ...

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 Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change the princip ...

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

s of inquiry and

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

s 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 of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

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. A hung jury may result in the case being tried again. Thi ...

had failed to convict him of corruption and

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) 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 insta ...

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 law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

. 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). 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. Brian Austin, another former health minister, was convicted of misappropriating public funds. Geoff Muntz was convicted of misappropriation of ministerial expense 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. The

Special Bureau was formed on 30 July 1940 and renamed

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

on 7 April 1948. It was criticised for being used for political purposes by the Bjelke-Petersen 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 decisively defeated in the December 1989 state election, which brought the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

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

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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 Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solicitor, an ...

, 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. Bjelke-Petersen's trial was later the subject of a TV movie, '' Joh's Jury''. Margot Hutcheson painted a picture of the inquiry, ''Wasn't the Fitzgerald Inquiry Fun?''"Griffith University – Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program"
,

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

, 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". Folk singer John Dengate wrote the satirical song "The Queensland Policeman" about the inquiry. See for example:

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 Issuu, Inc. (pronounced "issue") is a Danish-founded American electronic publishing platform based in Palo Alto, California, United States. The company's software converts PDFs into customizable digital publications that can be shared via links ...

, 1989, 242pp