Joh Bjelke-Petersen?

Question

During his period as Premier of Queensland, I'm informed he was essentially a currupt dictator who supressed anything that he disagreed with or anyone that disagreed with him. I'm told that any form of "alternative" culture was very supressed also.

If this is the case, how come no criminal charges were ever brought against him? Is this just an example of how polititions are immune to the law? Did he ever do anything to warrant a prison sentance?

Answer 1

he ate all the pumpkin scones

Answer 2

I'm a former Queenslander and lived through all of the J B-J era right in Queensland.  I have never voted National Party, I did vote Liberal after Dr L Edwards took the Liberals out of the Coalition but I was in a solid Labor electorate so I might as well not have voted at all.  

Donald Lane deserted the Liberals, joined the Nationals and at one time was Transport Minister, that included the Qld Railways, probably the biggest govt. employer in the state. beside the education dept.  Lane's name among railwaymen was "Shady" Lane, and they meant both meanings.  Lane served time later.  

Old Joh was a grade A, Bible bashing b@stard right from the start and about as pig ignorant as they come (apart from how to make and keep a dollar)  but as far as I recall the real corruption did not start until well after Ray Whitrod resigned  as Police Commissioner and Max Hodges got sacked (or resigned) as Police Minister.  That was what brought Terry Lewis back from the bush as commissioner.  

Lewis had been sent bush as he had been touched by the National Hotel prostitution scandal of the later 1960s.  I'm sure he got the job as he would do what Joh wanted, and Whitrod and Max Hodges would not always do so.  As long as Lewis did what he was told, I don't think Joh cared if he was copping backhanders from prostitution or illegal casinos.  

In the very early 1970s I worked at one of the coal mines near Blackwater.  Joh was up on his back legs almost claiming he'd put the effing coal in the ground himself.  The Blackwater population was around 3000 and growing.  When I was there, there was no doctor, no nurse, no pharmacy, no high school, no cinema, one pub, a tiny supermarket and a dress shop.  Most of the population were coal miners, one of the more dangerous jobs, and most of the married women were young and often pregnant.  If you got sick or injured you were effed as the nearest of any of these services was at Emerald, an hour's drive to the west and at the time a smaller town.  

Ten years later, say 1983, I was living in Rockhampton.  I was in a club that had the use of the North Rockhampton High School in the evenings.  It was clear that some of the rooms had not been painted on the inside since the place had been built in the early 1960s, the room we used had an ancient six inch hole in the plasterboard wall on the left (you could tell it was ancient by the accumulation of rubbish inside) and the timber stair treads were worn down in the middle, I'd say they were dangerous.  

In the Rockhampton High School on the southern side of the river, I knew the lab technician as he had worked at the same place I did.  The school could only afford to replace about half the chemical supplies needed for the following year. The gas supplies for the laboratory Bunsen burners had been unsafe for years and there was no money to fix them.  

While both of these schools were run down, the Kingaroy High School (Joh's electorate) was having it's carpets replaced.   Rockhampton voted solidly Labor so was starved of money by the Nats.

You have heard of Joh's jury.  There was even a TV drama about it.   He was very lucky to have escaped jail time.  

The Daintree Rainforest road was another issue, those who picketed the site had dogs turned on them.

EDIT -Aussie does make a good point.  The extent of corruption in the Qld Police and into the Qld cabinet was a mere shadow of what had gone on in NSW for years, and I suspect in Victoria from time to time as well.

But as for "did a lot for Queensland" that would have happened anyway with any gov't that approached competence, Labor, Liberal or National Party dominated.

Answer 3

Bjelke-Petersen abolished state duties on deceased estates (inheritance taxes), leading to a steady flow of retired people moving from the southern states of Victoria and New South Wales to Queensland, particularly the Gold Coast. All other Australian states and territories had abolished this tax by 1981 in attempt to stem the flow of people to Queensland. The rapid rise in population in the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast led to a building boom that has lasted for three decades.

The development boom was particularly noticeable in the tourist area of the Gold Coast, where developers were vigorously encouraged in a heady entrepreneurial environment. Environmental restrictions on planning were virtually unknown and high-rise apartment blocks flourished in the once sleepy seaside towns. The Bjelke-Petersen government worked closely with a clique of influential property developers, known derisively as "the white shoe brigade", to construct resorts, hotels, a casino and a system of residential developments built beside canals dredged through wetlands on the Gold Coast.



Interior of Cloudland Dance HallConsiderable development of the state's infrastructure took place during the Bjelke-Petersen era. Airports, coal mines, power stations, and dams were built throughout the state. James Cook University was established. In Brisbane, the Queensland Cultural Centre, Griffith University, the South East Freeway, and the Captain Cook, Gateway and Merivale bridges were all constructed, as well as the Parliamentary Annexe that was attached to Queensland Parliament House. Brisbane landmarks, such as the Bellevue Hotel and the Cloudland dance hall, were subject to demolition by the Deen Brothers demolition company, in the early hours of the morning, to make way for new developments.

Hope I helped. :)

Answer 4

nothing could stand against him ....he was the most corrupt politician the country has ever or will ever see....he ran the most corrupt police and government in the history of queensland....changed voting boundary's .....sold government contracts to friends....never went to war....ran the state like a gestapo dictator...to top it off he was a kiwi

Answer 5

Interesting question & some even more interesting answers...

Like all of us , politicians included , Joh wasn't perfect but he did more than any leader past or present to get our state on the map.

He was a self made man  used to hard work both physical & mental , went into political life well after he had become wealthy in his own right , didn't join the more than generous parliamentary superannuation fund  ..

Show me the politician before or since then who has contributed as much , been less greedy & then call him corrupt !

edit...To all those above waxing lyrical about what an evil , corrupt person Joh was I would suggest that you cast your eyes to what is slowly coming out from within governments in the southern states ....the stench can be smelt from up here in Qld !

Yes , I was around in those days , not a member or supporter of any political party ( still aren't ) , understand that there is never 100% honesty in any government ...I just refuse to follow the line taken by elements of the media , academics & the rest of the left wing  also rans whose motives in pursuing him were purely spiteful & vindictive !

For your info , at that time I was in uniform & those same elements made our lives miserable as well.....to the point we never wore our uniform in public if we could avoid it !

Answer 6

Looks like the above folk have pretty much covered it all.

Although, it has to be added that Joh was not the only 'offender'. Let's not forget police minister Lane, police commissioner Lewis (and Bischoff before him), Minister for Everything Hinze (who got out of his court judgement day by conveniently dying just before it commenced).

Let's not forget John Sinclair, hero of Fraser Island, who was persecuted so much that his marriage and career were ruined.

I was one of the many persecuted victims over that period, being an outspoken public servant, and ostracised due to various arrests over Vietnam War demonstrations,  by Joh's Special Branch.

I personally know one senior public servant who committed suicide as a result of 'orders' he had to carry out contrary to his conscience.

Lest we forget!!

Added:

Aussie (below) if you in fact lived in Qld over the relevant period, obviously you were brainwashed by the National Party propaganda machine. How else can one support a party that once got about 20 percent of the primary vote, and yet still ended up in government. Yes, I know the gerrymander existed before Joh, but it was refined to 'perfection' under the Nats.

Joh was 'wealthy' when he entered politics through shady means involving himself and a mate (destined to later become a big figure in future Qld development circles, who I won't mention by name here), to do with farm machinery rental after WW11.

Anyway, this debate could go on for years.

Answer 7

Yes, he was a corrupt dictator and charges of corruption were brought against him. It turned out though that the leader of the jury was a National Party member named Luke Shaw (who should have disqualified himself from the jury on the grounds of bias). The jury deliberated and every juror except Shaw voted Guilty. Shaw said Not Guilty and the conviction was overturned. It was a huge scandal at the time. The other jurors were furious when the Shaw story came out and that's how we know how the other jurors voted.

EDIT:

For goodness sake Aussie, the man was CORRUPT. He and many of his ministers took bribes! Queensland was the land of the brown paper bag when he was in power. If you paid enough money, you could get anything done and everyone knew it. The appointment of Terry Lewis was corrupt and Lewis himself was later proven to be corrupt. Hinze and many others were corrupt and were charged and found guilty when/if the cases went to trial. He trampled on the civil rights of anyone who didn't go along with his extreme right wing views. He caused public servants to be literally persecuted out of their jobs and sometimes even their lives if they got in his way. I laugh (cry really) when I hear people say how much he did for Queensland. He did no more than he was paid to do (I mean his legit. pay) and he made the state the laughing stock of the entire country. When he was in power, it was embarrassing to admit that you were from Queensland. Don't forget that he was eventually brought low by his own party, not by anyone else. I was furious when the crooked old mongrel finally died when I read and heard all the rewritten history spouted by nearly everyone, including to my disgust, Beatty. Read the historian Ross Fitzgerald on the subject if you want the facts.

Answer 8

Now, never you mind about that.............

Answer 9

I am a bit too young to know about the full immediate impact and going-ons of Sir Joh - but from what I hear he was both the best and the worst thing that happened to Qld!  He certainly has riled up some feathers - as you can see from the answers on here.  I do believe he had some very good ideas and considering he was talking about the water crisis all those years ago (which nothing had been done about until it really DID become a crisis) I think he certainly had good foresight.  I don't agree with his 'reign' - but I don't have enough knowledge to be against him either.  And I doubt that 80% of the answers you get here will be any better informed than I am.  

I suggest you read some unbiased history of the man and make your own deductions from that instead of relying on the emotions of everyone else.