Brisbane 1960s Photos Then and Now - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Photos
In late 1986 two journalists, the ABC's Chris Masters and The Courier-Mail's Phil Dickie, independently began investigating the extent of police and political corruption in Queensland and its links to the National Party state government. Dickie's reports, alleging the apparent immunity from persecution enjoyed by a group of illegal brothel operators, began appearing in early 1987; Masters' explosive Four Corners investigative report on police corruption aired on 11 May 1987. Within a week Acting Premier Gunn decided to initiate a wide-ranging Commission of Inquiry into police corruption, despite opposition from Bjelke-Petersen. Gunn selected former Federal Court judge Tony Fitzgerald as its head. By late June the terms of inquiry of what became known as the Fitzgerald Inquiry had been widened from members of the force to include "any other persons" with whom police might have been engaged in misconduct since 1977.
Fitzgerald began his formal hearings on 27 July 1987 and a month later the first bombshells were dropped as Sgt Harry Burgess-accused of accepting $221,000 in bribes since 1981- implicated senior officers Jack Herbert. Noel Dwyer, Graeme Parker and Chef Commissioner Terry Lewis in complex graft schemes. Other allegations quickly followed and on 21 September Police Minister Gunn ordered Lewis-knighted in 1986 at Bjelke-Petersen's behest[47] and now accused of having taken $663,000 in bribes-to stand down. On 7 October Bjelke-Petersen, whose ministers had already begun opposing him in Cabinet meetings, caved in to pressure from National Party state president Sir Robert Sparkes to relinquish his position as premier and announced he would retire on 8 August 1988, the 20th anniversary of his swearing-in.