The Fitzgerald Symposium: an Introduction

Abstract

This article introduces the collection of six papers that commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the tabling of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (ʻthe Fitzgerald Reportʼ). The report exposed the entrenched corruption among Queenslandʼs political and police leaders, deeply ingrained abuses of process and power, and an inept public administration. It led to the prosecution and imprisonment of key politicians and police. The Fitzgerald Report was notable not just for these direct outcomes, but also for its prescriptions for widespread and enduring reform, which came from Fitzgeraldʼs analysis of the underlying causes of police corruption in Queensland. This article places the Fitzgerald Inquiry in its historical context, and provides a brief outline of the key provisions of the Fitzgerald Report. It concludes with a brief introduction to each of the six articles in this collection. These articles critically examine the aftermath of the Fitzgerald Report and the reforms that Fitzgerald recommended. They ask whether Fitzgeraldʼs blueprint for accountable and ethical government was achieved — or indeed capable of being achieved — and whether it has stood the test of time.