Fitzgerald Inquiry - Findings

Findings

Fitzgerald's report was submitted on 3 July 1989. Based on the inquiry's final report, a number of high-profile politicians were charged with crimes; notably Queensland Police Commissioner (Sir) Terry Lewis was charged with corruption.

Bjelke-Petersen himself was charged with perjury in respect of evidence given to the inquiry. The jury in the case remained deadlocked. In 1992 it was revealed that the jury foreman, Luke Shaw, was a member of the Young Nationals and was identified with the "Friends of Joh" movement. 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), while the Bjelke-Petersen trial resulted in an mistrial due to a hung jury amidst allegations that the jury foreman (later revealed to be a member of the youth wing of Bjelke-Petersen's National Party) had misrepresented the state of deliberations to the judge.

Leisha Harvey 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, 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. Russ Hinze was found to have accepted bribes from businessmen but died before charges were laid. Hinze's resignation led to the 1988 South Coast state by-election.

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 to power for the first time since 1957.