Sir Robert Askin
History Project
SIR ROBERT ASKIN
This site is dedicated to original research and key online resources on Sir Robert Askin and his government.
In 1965 when Askin first won government he purportedly said, “think of all the money we will make” … and then we will bequeath it in perpetuity to all the good citizens of NSW. Yeah, right!
…………………………………. 2017. Right! (more than $10m)
Clearly his laconic quip was as innocuous as “run over the bastards”.
It seems that both sides of politics only have a sense of humour when it suits their respective agendas
Bob Bottom
STATEMENT REGARDING ROBERT ASKIN
Bob Bottom OAM is Australia’s pre-eminent crime expert outside of law enforcement agencies, and through a series of ground-breaking articles and books in the 1970s and 1980s was largely responsible for alerting Australians to the existence of organised crime and for many government inquiries and royal commissions into the subject. In the words of Malcolm Brown in the Sydney Morning Herald, Bottom made "heroic, ground breaking efforts to expose organised crime" and "did more than any other single individual to bring crime and corruption to public attention in NSW in the 1970s and 1980s".
Bottom was interviewed as a primary source for the PhD thesis "A History of the Askin Government 1965-1975 and contributed the following statement on the Askin corruption myth.
Robert Askin Corruption Myth
In a PhD published in 2016, “A History of the Askin Government 1965-1975”, it was concluded that the Askin corruption myth was based on unsubstantiated and uncorroborated allegations. The conclusion was reached after rigorous research including discourse with the key protagonists, David Hickie and David Marr. These reported allegations were a symptom of the vagaries of flawed journalism: inexperience, naivety, ambition and youthful exuberance. Since the corruption myth was propagated in 1981 it has become received wisdom and has often provided fertile ground for unsubstantiated allegations to be revived in order to facilitate numerous agendas.
Two typical examples:
#1 The renowned journalist Kate McClymont’s “the investigative journalist's investigative journalist” article in the SMH on 28 Jul 2008 which begins with “The disgraced former Liberal premier Bob Askin”
Why disgraced? Because Bob and Mollie Askin left almost their entire estate to the NSW public health system. OR – because of one exposé in 1981 edited by David Marr who refuses to engage in the topic every time corroborated and substantiated evidence is mentioned. It is noteworthy that David Marr has not held a position as editor since 1981.
Journalism might well be the first draft of history but with the passing of time, history becomes the judge.
The principal premise of the expose in The National Times and the book, The Prince and the Premier, was that Askin was the patron of organised crime in Sydney from 1967-68 until his retirement in 1975.
Where is the proof? Where is the corroborated, substantiated and empirical evidence which was the foundation for this claim?
We know where the money went: it was bequeathed in perpetuity to the citizens of NSW.
David Hickie (the young journalist in 1981) genuinely and graciously granted an interview for A History of the Askin Government 1965-75, for which the author, a student of history, was most grateful.
David Marr (the young editor in 1981) who was responsible for publishing the article, abruptly declined an interview. Marr, recently had no qualms in boasting - according to Mark Dapin, that “Askin was an absolute crook. Publishing Hickie's story within a few hours of Askins death is one of the best things I've ever done in journalism”.
Askin Charitable Trust legacy
Sir Robert Askin and his wife Mollie established four charitable trusts to be managed in perpetuity by Australia’s oldest trustee company, Perpetual Trustees.
The largest of those trusts, the hospital trust, has contributed millions to the public hospital system in NSW including almost $1million to Sydney Eye Hospital.
The total of the balance sheets of the four trusts currently stands at over $10 million including $8.6 million in the hospital trust, $0.8 million in the Animal Welfare trust and $0.6 million in each of the Ballet and Opera trusts.
Follow our two favourite lovely old sock puppets “the Drovers wife” and the
“green eyed desiccated old billy-goat” where they’re up to pussy's bow
in the dramatic nail biting puerile saga.
Who will the cuddly snuggly old scallywags (sock puppets) morph into next
as they obsessively fiddle with their pet wiki sites?
Tune in for the next episode…where Bob and Molly Askin are on the - OTHER SIDE - WAITING - and they're licking their lips like old Madame Defarge - in anticipation
of the arrival of the two lovely snuggly, cuddly old "sockies" (sock puppets).
Will the drover's wife repent - or will the old darling get his comeuppance?
Will the staple recipe, for the delicious impeccable source be served up cold by Bob and Molly?
What about the green eyed desiccated old billy goat?
He squibbed on the chance to advance a fairer take on the Askin corruption myth.
Instead, he unashamedly slurped on a dish of the delicious, warm and runny impeccable source.
Will Bob and Molly strip him of his rancid billy goat beard?
Time will tell: but there is one thing for sure - Bob and Molly ain’t going nowhere.
They’re just biding their time - WAITING - and they're licking their lips.
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