A Charles Sturt University (CSU) research student hopes to unravel findings in 30-year old embargoed documents surrounding scandals involving former High Court Justice Lionel Murphy.

Mr Liam Lander (pictured), a PhD student in the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences, recently made a special application to the Clerk of the Australian Parliament for access to the papers which were sealed and placed under a 30-year embargo following the death of Justice Murphy in 1986.

"Justice Lionel Murphy was a particularly controversial High Court judge accused of corruption in the 1980s, and 'The Age Tapes' scandal (1984-1986) surrounding him was one of the most sensational corruption scandals in Australian political history," Mr Lander said.

"Given the premature termination of a major inquiry into Justice Murphy's misconduct, due to his death in 1986, a determination of his guilt or innocence has never been established."

Justice Murphy was a particularly controversial public figure, and as a Minister in the Whitlam government (1972-75) he played a crucial role in then-Prime Minister Whitlam's social reform agenda. He was responsible for the abolition of the death penalty, family law reforms, the Racial Discrimination Act, and the establishment of Legal Aid. But he was also involved in a number of political scandals throughout his political career (such as the Loans affair, the Vincent Gair scandal, and the ASIO Raid) and was the subject of three parliamentary inquiries and two criminal trials, conducted at various stages over two-and-a-half years. However, the last of these inquiries was terminated upon the premature death of Justice Murphy on 21 October 1986, before a conclusion had been reached.

Mr Lander said that since the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in late 1975, scandals have become a force for political change in Australia, and this development coincided with the emergence of investigative journalism, which enhanced media activism and increased the exposure of political figures to public scrutiny.

"Political scandals featured prominently in the political discourse of the 1980s, and were the subject of numerous inquiries throughout Australian state and federal politics," Mr Lander said.

"The impact of these scandals contributed significantly to the resignations of three state Premiers and the conviction of several senior public figures for corruption or misconduct, prompting the establishment of state anti-corruption bodies such as the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

"A comprehensive study, mapping the impact of these political scandals, is yet to be undertaken.

"My thesis will explore a number of significant political scandals and consider a broad range of media and political source material in order to demonstrate the significance of particular political scandals, to better understand the social and cultural forces which produced them, and to enhance our understanding of the political history of the 1980s."

"The political scandals of the 1980s prompted a public debate about the necessity of independent anti-corruption bodies," Mr Lander said. "Today, there are similar calls for a federal anti-corruption body in the wake of every political scandal. Given the present political climate, and declining rates of public trust in government, political transparency is crucial to democracy."