Humble servant of the Nation

The Painters & Dockers Union

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True crime writer Peter Hoysted, aka ‘Jack the Insider’ returns with the story of one of Australia’s most elaborate criminal enterprises.

From the early 1950s, Melbourne’s Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union was much more than an affiliation of dock workers.

It became a thriving criminal enterprise, and a front for crimes including murder, theft, extortion and prostitution.

The Union held sway for five decades, and had members who had never done a day’s work on the Docks, but had plenty of experience with killing.

Eventually a Royal Commission was called into their activities, which led to the downfall of a Federal Government.

Text supplied by ABC.

 

 

289 Comments

  • jack says:

    worked in a factory in south melbourne over the summer of 73-74. factory run by old aussies with quite a few new greek migrants working there, and a couple of us long haired layabouts.

    the old guys used too nick out to the pubs for the four course lunch, three pots and a pie.

    we used to get dragged along on pay day and my recollection is that the South Melb pubs of the day were a very different world. needed someone to guide as to where you could or could not stand etc. Not relaxing at all.

  • Dismayed says:

    Trump’s tax cuts risk 1970s-style stagflation. “most of the proceeds from the tax cuts have flowed to company owners via share buybacks and dividends, with little actually flowing to the real economy via increased investment or wages growth. This is great for asset markets and the wealthy, but not so good for America’s working and middle classes.”
    “The above should serve as a stark warning to Australia’s senate, which is currently weighing up passing the Turnbull Government’s company tax cut package. Passing this package would similarly worsen Australia’s structural Budget deficit for little material economic gain.”
    https://tinyurl.com/y856n5au

  • Dismayed says:

    “A corporate tax cut is a structural deficit.”But what’s left behind is the $8bn Budget black hole. And this is where it turns from stupid to crazy” ” The big bulk commodities producers are already radically under-taxed. LNG pays no tax at all. And neither can go anywhere else anyway. The dirt is here! Their one third windfall will tip down the bottomless mine shaft directly to foreign shareholders never to be seen again.
    Another quarter will go to the banks. Is anyone watching the Royal Commission? Are we really going to reward a rogue sector with no regard for its home nation with tax cuts? They are already obscenely profitable and are non-tradable anyway.”
    “I can’t believe it has come to this. The Coalition is completely unhinged philosophically, in policy terms and rhetorically. This is the party of Budget conservatism careening off the rails. The tax cut began as an 11th hour brain fart to cover policy emptiness at the last election and now it’s moved front and centre to national interest destruction. It’s beyond maddening. It’s mad.”
    https://tinyurl.com/ycrm8kzc

  • Boadicea says:

    I feel sad for James Packer. All the money and influence in the world couldn’t buy happiness. His father’s shoes were just too big to fill I think. The pressure must have been huge – all his life.
    I hope he takes time out to relax and get well.

    • Henry Blofeld says:

      Indeed Boadicea, I read where his Father pushed him to terrible limits even playing Cricket at home. Lets hope he gets well again. Cheers

    • jack says:

      yep,

      looks like something has gone wrong when you fall out with so many of your old mates and colleagues

    • Trivalve says:

      His granddad used to refer to Kerry as ‘my idiot son’. I don’t think the family environment has ever been touchy-feely.

      Mind you, I’d start to wonder about myself if I’d been dating Mariah Carey in the past year or so.

      • Penny says:

        I met Sir Frank Packer a few times TV….he was nice once you got to know him, but very, very scary on first meeting. Pretty tough being his son I reckon and Kerry didn’t make it easier for James either. You wonder why, when it was obvious he had a miserable childhood.

    • Lou oTOD says:

      Not sure about filling his shoes Bo, I think the boots up the clacker from Kerry have had a lasting effect on James, and it is being played out now.

      Remember the Onetel fiasco, when Kerry made him walk the streets of Sydney to face the press and maximise the embarrassment. Then there was the ugly negotiations with his sister Gretel to pay her out. Even more poiniant are the before and after photos of James when hooking up with Maria Carey, and the rather large fellow we see now.

      • Bella says:

        Gosh, seems to me like one rotten father passing on the same cruel upbringing he experienced to his own son.
        No amount of money can ever make you happy or erase years of parental abuse. The damage is permanent but I do hope he gets back up again.

      • Mack the Knife says:

        Not to mention the very public punch-a-thon with his buddy.

  • Tracy says:

    England 23 runs against NZ…..seven out😳

  • Gryzly says:

    Yes, it’s back. Footy tips please.

    • Jack The Insider says:

      I am locked in, Mr Gryzly.

    • Wissendorf says:

      Going Blues in the curtain raiserJack? I tipped them in the comp, and waved some cash at Sportsbet who offered $5 for a 1 – 30 win. I reckon they get home by 3 goals. Cats at $1.90 didn’t seem too bad but I took $7.20 for the Cats/Blues double. They’ll have to send a boat out into Port Phillip Bay to get the D’s back to shore after the Cats blow them off the park on Sunday. Cats by 10 goals.

      • The Outsider says:

        I hope so, Wiss.

        The Cats have been a disappointment for some years, but I hope this is the Al Stewart year.

  • Boadicea says:

    I don’t think MP Broad need worry about how South Africans will feed themselves when the farmers have left.
    If the South Africans were at all worried about their future food supplies they wouldn’t be murdering them, would they.
    Zimbabwe all over again.

  • The Bow-Legged Swantoon says:

    Can we clone Peter Dutton and put him into more ministries? It’s been so long since I heard anyone in the Liberals tell the left-wing offenderatti where to stick their whingeing I thought they’d forgotten how to do it.

    • Boadicea says:

      Good wasn’t it! A bit of their own medicine back.

    • Penny says:

      Trouble is TBLS he did it on Ray Hadley’s show. Don’t think anyone under 70 listens. There are a lot of people who get offended by anything though, I agree, but I have to say that I think Peter Dutton is awful. I think it’s his head…..he’s certainly not as handsome as our wonderful PM.

      Ps….Carlton look good JTI

      • Jack The Insider says:

        They do look good. I figure or hope they’ll finish around 10th this year, loom at the finals but fall short. That would be significant progress.

        • Milton says:

          I was surprised to see that neither you or anyone, besides Wiss tipped them. Head over heart?

          • Jack The Insider says:

            Trying to do that in the tipping, at least early on. Carlton play the Suns next week who should be North today. I’ll tip the Blues then.

      • Carl on the Coast says:

        “Trouble is TBLS he did it on Ray Hadley’s show. Don’t think anyone under 70 listens.”

        Penny, I never thought you were over three score years and ten.

    • Trivalve says:

      Clone Dutton? Great. Zombie apocalypse.

    • John O'Hagan says:

      By the look of him there have already been several failed attempts to clone him already.

      Grisly medical experiments aside, it looks like the right-wing offenderatti are in full throat yet again:

      http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-21/bernardi-says-someone-should-lose-their-job-over-comedy-sketch/9570346?pfmredir=sm

      And as usual, far from being told where to stick their whinging, they will no doubt succeed yet again in having their target tarred, feathered, and run out of town, backed by the full force of the Murdoch press.

      • Jack The Insider says:

        Not by me. I despise these public figures who want someone somewhere sacked because someone somewhere used a rude word and almost in the same breath maintain they are free speech right to offend warriors. If I was more cynical, I’d say Cory “Mr Three per Cent” Bernardi was trying to make a noise after failing to make one in the Sth Aust election.

    • The Outsider says:

      I doubt that anyone in the press would give a toss about Dutton’s opinion of them.

      The guy is a walking disaster area who’s been promoted way above his capabilities.

  • JackSprat says:

    Bella

    In reply to Adani and the unlimited ground water.
    It would have to be one of the stupidest concessions on the planet – all done by a Labor Government I might add.
    In a few years time, the water will be worth more than the coal.

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