Donald Frederick Lane (18 July 1935 – 11 March 1995) was a Minister of Transport in the Bjelke-Petersen state of Queensland's coalition government. A former policeman in the Special Branch, in 1971 he was elected as the Liberal member for Merthyr, an electorate which included the Fortitude Valley where a lot of the then illegal brothels and casinos were located. During his time with the Police, he had gotten to know Jack Herbert the Chief Organiser of The Joke, and the "Rat Pack" of Terry Lewis, Tony Murphy and Glenn Hallahan well. Following the 1983 Queensland state election he switched to the National Party (along with Brian Austin), providing it with an outright majority, and was rewarded with a ministry. He went on to lead the National Party's submission to the Electoral Commission to more effectively gerrymander and malapportion seats to increase National Party control.Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications pp162-163 It was revealed in the Fitzgerald Inquiry, that Lane had significant unexplained income, and was alleged by Jack Herbert to have taken bribes. Lane did not admit to taking bribes, instead he admitted to abusing Ministerial expenses and claimed a lot of other Ministers had done the same. In the end Lane and three other Bjelke-Petersen ministers (Leisha Harvey, Brian Austin, and Geoff Muntz) were tried in the District Court and sentenced to twelve months imprisonment for falsifying their expense accounts.
Police career (1952–1971) Don Lane spent 19 years in the Queensland Police Force, the first 10 years in Cloncurry and Mt Isa, and the last 9 years in Brisbane.
Early career On 11 February 1952, a 16-year-old Lane joined the Police Force as a cadet (a week ahead of Glen Hallahan, one of the so called "Rat Pack" who joined 18 February 1952), and became a constable on 31 January 1955. After a few months in Roma St, Lane was then posted to Cloncurry in 1957 under then Inspector Norm Bauer (a future police commissioner),Bishop, Steve 2014, The Most Dangerous Detective: The Outrageous Glen Patrick Hallahan and the Rat Pack, Steve Bishop.p153 as part of the 12-strong police force at Cloncurry. After a while Lane decided he wanted to become a detective, and was assisted when Sergeant Don Becker arrived in Cloncurry-who had a reputation as one of the best "white-collar crime" investigators in the force, but had been transferred to Cloncurry after stoushes with senior police. Becker immediately enraged Bauer by closing down illegal SP bookmaking operations and confiscating the betting ledgers. The corrupt Bauer put a lot of pressure on Becker and Lane but failed to stop the bookmakers being charged.Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications pp11-12
Lane spent two and a half years in the four-officer Mt Isa CIB team as a detective, replacing Glen Hallahan when he was transferred to Brisbane CIB. Hallahan when he was in Mt Isa CIB handled about 80% of the Cloncurry cases and Lane got to know him well, although Hallahan was considered a loner.
In 1958, when Frank Bischoff became Commissioner, he did a Statewide tour and after a visit to Mt Isa, he quickly brought Bauer to Brisbane to take charge of the Licensing Branch, and he moved Hallahan to CIB.
Brisbane CIB In 1962, Lane was transferred from Mt Isa to Brisbane CIB, where he spent the first 5 years in Consorting Squad.
Lane's close ties to the "Rat Pack" When Lane arrived in Brisbane, Hallahan ensured that he would be given a job with the Consorting Squad, where served with both Hallahan and Tony Murphy.Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications p24 The "Rat Pack" consisted of Terry Lewis, Tony Murphy and Glenn Hallahan. On 16 December 1958, Lewis recorded being on duty with Murphy and Hallahan in Police Car no 12, the "Rat Pack was born".Condon, Matthew 2014, Three Crooked Kings, Brisbane: UQP Chapter: The Curious Corruption Incubator of Mt Isa In conjunction with Jack Herbert, the Rat Pack would be instrumental in establishing "The Joke". Later when Lane moved to the Special Branch, he was located in the Special Branch office which was directly adjacent to where Lewis worked in Juvenile Aid Bureau, and he would see Lewis in passing on most days. In his autobiography, Lane admits that during the Special Branch years, that he often went for drinks with Terry Lewis and Jack Herbert after work, showing his close ties with all the key players in "The Joke"Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications p244-245
Special Branch In January 1967, Lane transferred to the Special Branch. Soon after Herbert joined the Licensing Branch it moved to the 4th Floor of the Police Headquarters, next to the Special Branch. One day Herbert was approached by Don Lane and bribed a small amount each week to avoid raiding a pub for trading on a Sunday (then illegal). That was how the relationship between Herbert and Shady Lane began, but later on, it quickly changed to Herbert paying Lane.Herbert, Jack & Gilling, Tom 2004, The Bagman: Final Confessions of Jack Herbert, ABC Books, p64
Political career (1971–1989) On 29 March, the Reverend Sam Ramsden (1913-1986) the incumbent Liberal Party member for Merthyr announced that he would resign on 30 June. Ramsden had significant health problems and had part of his lungs removed.
Member for Merthyr Still only a Senior Constable after 19 years in the Queensland Police force, on 24 July 1971, Don Lane entered parliament as the Liberal Member for Merthyr, which included the Fortitude Valley area.Bishop, Steve 2014, The Most Dangerous Detective: The Outrageous Glen Patrick Hallahan and the Rat Pack, Steve Bishop.
With Merthyr having a large population of Italian Australians, Lane was fanatical about ensuring he had their support, and used his influence to get jobs for the locals in the State Government. Lane lobbied hard for Commissioner Terry Lewis to transfer Special Branch Detective Mick Cacciola, to Rockhampton because Cacciola was about to become President of the Italo-Australian club, and had previously pushed a motion for the club to stay out of politics, after complaints about Lane using the club to promote the Liberal Party. Lane on the other hand wanted the club to actively support him, and to avoid a transfer to Rockhampton, Cacciola had to withdraw his nomination.Cacciola, Domenico 2009, The Second Father: An insiders story of cops, crime and corruption, Brisbane: UQP, pp138-139
Plot against Commissioner Whitrod Police Officer Vincent Murphy (who was also on the Police Union Executive), was originally a critic of Ray Whitrod, but had been put in charge of a squad in Fortitude Valley called the Marauders, who had been set a task to clean up the number of assaults and road accidents in the Valley. Murphy later sent Whitrod a letter noting that sometime in 1972, when he was operating a one man patrol in the Hamilton area, he drove along Langside Road and noticed Don Lane in the back yard. Lane motioned Murphy over, saying he wanted to talk. Lane asked Vince whether he would join a small group of people including himself, Terry Lewis, and Tony Murphy to get rid of Ray Whitrod. Vince said no he would not, and Lane abruptly stopped the conversation. Little Fish Are Sweet, Condon, Matthew; University of Queensland Press, 2016, The Marauder, 3052
In 1970, when Whitrod became Commissioner, he got all the major factions offside immediately. He gave a speech to the legal fraternity saying he would prefer to hire all new police, enraging both the police unions and the media savvy Criminal Investigations Branch. He also enraged the Catholic Officers when, in his weekly update he included sermons preaching against aspects of the Catholic faith.Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications p33 Whitrod also announced that he transferred Special Branch Chief Leo De Lange after 20 years in charge of the branch, and that he was breaking the branch up, which provoked the Government to override the decision and maintain the Special Branch. Whitrod had been furious that the Premier was being fed info from the Special Branch, specifically by Don Lane (who denied any specific contact with the Premier).Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications Pp50-51
Minister for Transport Lane was made Minister for Transport in December 1980, and served for the next 7 years in that portfolio.
The Coalition Split In 1983 Llew Edwards was leader of the Queensland Liberal Party and Deputy Premier. The Liberal Party was increasingly becoming divided between the Ginger Group which opposed the Government on a number of issues and wanted to be the senior coalition partner and those content with the status quo. Increasingly new Liberal Party members being elected were less conservative; indeed, most of the members of the Ginger Group were "small-l liberals." On 9 October 1978, this (combined with a failure to win many seats in the last election) had resulted in Sir William Knox being deposed as leader and replaced by Edwards. This stoush, and the increasing number of three-cornered contests in the 1977 election had attracted the ire of the National Party in the 1980 election, where they had engaged in three-cornered contests in three seats to defeat Bruce Bishop (Surfers Paradise), Peter White (Southport), and Tony Bourke (Lockyer). Bishop and White had been particularly open in their hostility to the National Party, and to alleged corruption by Russ Hinze on the Gold Coast. Three incidents in 1981 had further damaged relations between the Nationals and many Liberals, with the Liberal representation in Cabinet reduced from 8 to 7, the appointment of John's friend Ted Lyons to the Chairmanship of the TAB board, and the appointment of the new Chief Justice.Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications Pp97
In December 1981, Ginger Group member Angus Innes had narrowly lost a challenge to Edwards 12-10, that was seen as a reasonable indicator in how many Ginger Group members there were at the time.Whitton, Evan (1989). "19". The Hillbilly Dictator. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Growing friction had resulted in two long standing conservative members Bob Moore (Windsor) and Bill Kaus (Mansfield) losing pre-selection for the upcoming 1983 election, with both as a result winning National Party preselection instead.
Matters came to a head on 4 August 1983 when Welfare Minister Terry White joined his Ginger Group colleagues in crossing the floor of parliament over the establishment of a public accounts committee, which had been a longstanding demand. White claimed that since there was no stated government policy on the matter, he was not bound by cabinet solidarity to vote against it. Bjelke-Petersen was furious, and Edwards quickly sacked White from his cabinet portfolio over the affair.
Lane was furious with White over his actions, noting that he had given no notice of what was clearly a political ambush, despite the fact the Liberal Ministers had agreed to work closely, and that it was a poor reward for Edwards previously sacking three Ministers (Norm Lee, John Greenwood, and Bill Lickis) to allow for White, Lane and Austin to enter Cabinet.Lane, Don 1993, Trial and Error Boolarong Publications Pp104-110
White, in turn, challenged Edwards for leadership of the party, which he managed to secure with the assistance of the other Ginger Group members. Angus Innes was at the same time elected deputy leader. However, Bjelke-Petersen refused to appoint White as Deputy Premier, a post normally held by the Liberal leader. In response, White dissolved the coalition agreement and moved the Liberals to the crossbenches.
Despite the likely loss of a majority with the end of the Coalition, Bjelke-Petersen advised the Governor, James Ramsay, to adjourn parliament, allowing him to stay in power at the head of a minority government until the election without having to face any confidence motions from White.
1983 Queensland State Election