Don Lane | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Merthyr | |
| In office 24 July 1971 – 13 May 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Ray Ramsden |
| Succeeded by | Santo Santoro |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Frederick Lane 18 July 1935 Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 11 March 1995 (aged 59) |
| Resting place | Pinnaroo Cemetery |
| Nationality | Australian citizenship |
| Political party | National Party |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal Party, Independent |
| Occupation | Police Officer |
Donald Frederick Lane (18 July 1935 – 11 March 1995) was a Minister of Transport in the Bjelke-Petersen state of Queensland's coalition government.[1] 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.