The Murder of Donald McKay was one of the most notorious examples of organised crime’s impact on politics. Below is the story from the paper from Liam Lander.
On 15 July 1977, Donald Mackay, a prominent Griffith community figure and vocal opponent of marijuana cultivation, was murdered in what was widely understood to be retaliation for his anti-drug activism. His death shocked the nation and became a turning point in Australian public discourse on organised crime. Mackay’s murder transformed organised crime from a perceived threat into an immediate and visible danger, while also intensifying suspicions that police and political corruption were enabling drug trafficking in regional New South Wales.
Reference: from a paper by Liam Lander, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Page 113 2023