Misplaced Pages

#466533

22-586: The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission , which investigated tax evasion and organised crime . It was intended to lead a national law enforcement response to organised crime which could overcome the jurisdictional barriers of the Australian federal system. It had extraordinary powers which removed many of the barriers which prevented other enforcement organisations from being able to comprehensively investigate or prosecute. The NCA

44-510: A bankrupt Queensland businessman. When questioned by the Commission, Packer testified, "I wanted it in cash because I like cash. I have a squirrel-like mentality". Packer was therefore codenamed the "Squirrel" in the Commission's case studies, but the National Times changed this to "Goanna" to preserve anonymity. The Commission concluded in 1984, and the revelations of organised crime led to

66-482: A force so severe that it blew out the window of the building on the 12th floor. Bowen was the senior investigator on Operation Cerberus, an investigation into Italian organised crime in Australia. An NCA staff member also lost an eye and suffered severe burns to 40% of his body as a result of the incident. The accused Domenic Perre was standing on top of a nearby carpark and was later arrested at his house. On 1 March 2018,

88-529: The Fairfax newspaper The National Times published leaked extracts of the Commission's draft report which implicated a prominent Australian businessman codenamed the " Goanna " in tax evasion and organised crime , including drug trafficking , pornography, and murder. Australia's richest man, media magnate Kerry Packer revealed himself to be the subject of these allegations, which he strenuously denied. Packer's own Bulletin magazine had been instrumental in

110-639: The 1980s. Headed by Frank Costigan QC , the Commission was established by the Australian government on 10   September 1980, jointly with the Victorian Government, to investigate criminal activities, including violence, associated with the Painters and Dockers Union after a series of investigative newspaper articles that detailed a high level of criminality. The union was represented by prominent Melbourne criminal lawyer Frank Galbally . The Commission

132-551: The Coalition until the 1996 election . Future Prime Minister Bob Hawke and future opposition leader and future Deputy Prime Minister Kim Beazley entered parliament at this election. The Fraser Government had lost a degree of popularity within the electorate by 1980. The economy had been performing poorly since the 1973 oil shock . However, Hayden was not seen as having great electoral prospects. Perhaps as evidence of this, then ACTU President Bob Hawke (elected to parliament in

154-822: The Costigan Commission found extensive and numerous illegal activities by the Union it was not deregistered. Rather the biggest achievement was as a direct result of the Commission was the establishment of a permanent body called the National Crime Authority , now called the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), to investigate criminal enterprises and crimes. 1980 Australian federal election Malcolm Fraser Liberal/NCP coalition Malcolm Fraser Liberal/NCP coalition The 1980 Australian federal election

176-447: The NCA was essentially to gather the intelligence surrounding a specific matter and then hand the matter across to either AFP, ATO or Customs, along with the assistance of the relevant State Police force to effect a strike on the known targets. For the reasons stated, the NCA operatives were never known or seen to the general public, and the credit for the success of the operation went to those in

198-634: The NCA, the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (ABCI) and the Office of Strategic Crime Assessments (OSCA) were superseded by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC). A targeted killing of NCA Senior Investigator Det Sgt Geoffrey Bowen occurred on 2 March 1994 at the Adelaide office, on Waymouth Street . Bowen was killed by opening a specifically and personally addressed parcel bomb, with

220-491: The calls for a Royal Commission into the union. Packer's counter-attack was led by his counsel Malcolm Turnbull , later the Prime Minister of Australia , and accused the Commission of a misuse of power. No charges were laid against Packer, and in 1987 Australia's Attorney-General Lionel Bowen formally dismissed the allegations. However, mystery still surrounds Packer's receipt of a supposed "loan" of A$ 225,000 in cash from

242-512: The crimes of Union members were "taxation fraud, social security fraud, ghosting, compensation fraud, theft on a grand scale, extortion, the handling of massive importations of drugs, the shipments of armaments, all manner of violence and murder". Despite the union's members being "careless of their reputation, glorying in its infamy", that very reputation attracted "employment by wealthy people outside their ranks who stoop to use their criminal prowess to achieve their own questionable ends". In 1984,

SECTION 10

#1732855718467

264-494: The election as the member for Wills ) and then Premier of New South Wales Neville Wran featured heavily in the campaign, almost as heavily as Hayden. In the election, Labor finished only 0.8 percent behind the Coalition on the two-party vote—a four-percent swing from 1977. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up 12 seats short of a majority, giving the Coalition a third term in government. Hayden, however, did manage to regain much of what Labor had lost in

286-564: The establishment of the National Crime Authority . The Commission also recommended changes to criminal law to deprive criminals of the profit from their crimes. At Kerry Packer 's state funeral in February 2006, his son James stated that the Packer family had never forgiven Costigan for what they took to be a smear. Costigan publicly responded that, as Royal Commissioner, he simply investigated, and did not make allegations or prosecute. Although

308-477: The murder was related to union activities. As the Commission investigated further it found money laundering occurring on an industrial scale, extensive fraud on the social security and pension systems, and the use of the so-called " bottom of the harbour " tax evasion schemes involving the asset-stripping of companies to avoid tax liabilities and, although facilitated by criminals among the Painters and Dockers Union,

330-464: The practice benefited wealthy individuals. The Royal Commission's investigations soon revealed that many members of the union were involved in a wide range of criminal activities. Costigan observed that "The Union has attracted to its ranks in large numbers men who have been convicted of, and who continue to commit, serious crimes", and that "violence is the means by which they control the members of their group. They do not hesitate to kill". Included in

352-541: The previous Coalition landslides of 1975 and 1977. Notably, he managed to more than halve Fraser's majority, from 23 seats at dissolution to 11. In the subsequent term, the government delivered budgets significantly in deficit, and Fraser was challenged for the Liberal leadership by Andrew Peacock . The Australian Democrats made further gains, winning the balance of power in the Senate. From July 1981 (when those senators elected at

374-506: The public light of the media releases, generally the AFP or Customs. Businessman and former Liberal Party President John Elliott accused the NCA of running a vendetta against him inspired by the then Labor government. Elliott sued the NCA claiming $ 75 million in damages after he was changed with and acquitted of foreign exchange violations before dropping his claim in July 2000. On 1 January 2003,

396-542: The then 61-year-old Perre was charged with murder and attempted murder for the attack after a 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -year investigation involving state-of-the-art DNA techniques. He pleaded not guilty in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on 17 February 2020 but his lawyer conceded that there is a case to answer and he was committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court of South Australia . In March 2021, Perre's trial

418-615: Was frequently criticised both for misuse of these powers and lack of effectiveness. Some argue that perception was often due to the covert operations and extreme secrecy required as a direct result of the level of criminals being targeted, and the risk to the operatives and their families. The staff and operatives of the NCA were often reminded by the Chairman that "we are dealing with the most evil, calculating and manipulative people who have significant financial resources and good reason to stop us in our work or harm us as individuals". The role of

440-501: Was held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal–NCP coalition government, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser , was elected to a third term with a much reduced majority, defeating the opposition Labor Party led by Bill Hayden . This was the last federal election victory for

462-597: Was proceeding in the Supreme Court of South Australia . In June 2022, Perre was found guilty of the 1994 murder of Det Sgt Geoffrey Bowen and the attempted murder of Peter Wallis. Perre died in 2023. Costigan Commission The Costigan Commission (officially titled the Royal Commission on the Activities of the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union ) was an Australian royal commission held in

SECTION 20

#1732855718467

484-671: Was seen by many as politically motivated, in keeping with a long-running anti-union agenda pursued by the governing party of the day . The Painters and Dockers Union was notorious for its criminality and the Costigan Commission investigated numerous crimes, including a string of murders, assaults, tax-fraud networks, drug-trafficking syndicates and intimidation Costigan found the union since 1971 had "a positive policy of recruiting hardened criminals", who were essentially outsourced "to any dishonest person requiring criminals to carry out his project". The Commission noted 15 murders in which Painters and Dockers members were either involved, or in which

#466533