On 1 September 1968, three weeks after becoming premier, Bjelke-Petersen's government gave two companies, Exoil NL and Transoil NL—in both of which he was a major shareholder—six-year leases to prospect for oil on the Great Barrier Reef north of Cooktown.

Opposition Leader Jack Houston revealed the Premier's financial involvement in the companies at a press conference in March 1969, where he asserted Bjelke-Petersen had gained "fabulous wealth" from the £2 prospecting authority, which had now mushroomed into Exoil shares worth AU$720,000.

Bjelke-Petersen again rejected claims of a conflict of interest, but the Country Party state branch changed its policy to forbid the acceptance of preferential share offers by ministers or members of parliament.

[17][18] In October, the Country Party lost a by-election in the Gold Coast seat of Albert, prompting several nervous MPs to make plans to oust Bjelke-Petersen and replace him with deputy leader Ron Camm.

[2] From 1971, under the guidance of newly hired press secretary Allen Callaghan, a former Australian Broadcasting Corporation political journalist, Bjelke-Petersen developed a high level of sophistication in dealing with news media.

[32] At 5.15pm the Queensland Cabinet met to pass a "flying minute" and advised the Governor, Sir Colin Hannah, to issue writs for five, rather than six, vacancies, denying Labor the chance of gaining Gair's Senate spot.

This was a matter of protracted debate in the Senate over many days, and was never resolved, but it was rendered irrelevant when Whitlam called a double dissolution of both Houses, in an election gamble he only narrowly won.

[33] During the tumultuous election campaign precipitated by Whitlam's dismissal by the governor-general John Kerr, Bjelke-Petersen alleged that Queensland police investigations had uncovered damaging documentation in relation to the Loans Affair.

[38] Issues of police powers and civil liberties, first raised at the time of the 1971 Springboks tour, resurfaced in July 1976 with a major street demonstration in which more than a thousand university students marched towards the Brisbane city centre to demand better allowances from the federal government.

[39][40] Secure in the knowledge that they had the Premier's backing, police officers continued to act provocatively, most notably in a military-style raid on a hippie commune at Cedar Bay in Far North Queensland late the following month.

Whitrod claimed his resignation marked a victory for the forces of corruption, but said he had decided to quit rather than tolerate further political interference by the premier and new Police Minister Tom Newbery.

"[43] When, after two ugly street battles between police and right-to-march protesters, the Uniting Church Synod called on the government to change the march law, Bjelke-Petersen accused the clergy of "supporting communists".

He condemned the use of Australian foreign aid to prop up communist regimes, urged Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to stop criticising the governments of South Africa and Rhodesia and from 1977 proposed Queensland secede from Australia and establish its own currency.

[38] Bjelke-Petersen began making appointments, including judges and the chairmanship of the Totalisator Agency Board, that had traditionally been the domain of Liberal ministers, and accusations arose of political interference and conflicts of interest as mining contracts, casino licences and the rights to build shopping complexes were awarded to business figures with National Party links.

[38] Accusations of political interference also arose when police released without charge TAB chairman Sir Edward Lyons, a National Party trustee and close friend of Bjelke-Petersen, after a breathalyser test showed he was driving with more than double the legal blood alcohol limit.

In his victory speech, Bjelke-Petersen declared the Nationals had prevailed over the "three forces" who had opposed it: "We had the ALP organisation with its deceits, deception and lies, we had the media encouraging and supporting them, and we had the Liberal Party ... our assault on Canberra begins right now.

[57] In late 1986, two journalists, the ABC's Chris Masters and The Courier-Mail's Phil Dickie, independently began investigating the extent of police and political corruption in Queensland and its links to the National Party state government.

The premier had flown to the United States two days earlier and had not yet nominated for a federal seat;[55] on 3 June he abandoned his ambitions to become prime minister and resumed his position in the Queensland government.

Fitzgerald began his formal hearings on 27 July 1987, and a month later the first bombshells were dropped as Sgt Harry Burgess—accused of accepting $221,000 in bribes since 1981—implicated senior officers Jack Herbert, Noel Dwyer, Graeme Parker and Commissioner Terry Lewis in complex graft schemes.

Questioned by barrister Michael Forde, Bjelke-Petersen—whose citation for his 1984 knighthood noted that he was "a strong believer in historic tradition of parliamentary democracy"—was also unable to explain the doctrine of separation of powers under the Westminster system.

[citation needed] The money had been given over by developer Sng Swee Lee, and the bank account was in the name of Kaldeal, operated by Sir Edward Lyons, a trustee of the National Party.

Queensland political scientist Rae Wear described Bjelke-Petersen as an authoritarian who treated democratic values with contempt and was intolerant and resentful of opposition, yet who also demonstrated a down-home charm and old-fashioned courtesies as well as kindness to colleagues.

[85][86] Wear dismissed Bjelke-Petersen's claim that he was a reluctant and accidental entrant into state politics, concluding that he "seized opportunity whenever it presented and held tenaciously to power", and was later willing to use any device to remain premier.

"[89] He believed God had chosen him to save Australia from socialism[90] and also had a profound sense of Christian conscience that he said guided political decisions, explaining, "Your whole instinct cries out whether it's good or bad."

A cousin of Bjelke-Petersen said the premier "has an inner certainty that he knows the answers to our political and social woes" and as a good Christian expected to be trusted, thus needing no constitutional checks and balances.

"[92] Callaghan's advice to Bjelke-Petersen included the recommendation that he maintain his rambling style of communication with mangled syntax, recognising it added to his homespun appeal to ordinary people and also allowed him to avoid giving answers.

[95] Wear wrote: "His verbal stumbling communicated decent simplicity and trustworthiness and, in order to enhance his popular appeal, Bjelke-Petersen appears to have exaggerated, or at least not tried to rid himself of, his famous speaking style.

"[92] The premier showed little concern for heritage and environmental issues, attracting widespread public fury over the 1979 demolition of Brisbane's historic Bellevue Hotel[96] and favouring oil drilling on the Great Barrier Reef[16] and sand mining on Moreton Island.

He excused racially discriminatory legislation as a protective measure and generally supported Aboriginal self-determination at least partly as striking a blow against the monolithic centralism of Canberra under Labor.

[108][109] During his period in office Bjelke-Petersen frequently raised fears of a conspiracy of "southern homosexuals" to gain electoral advantage and to oppose the policies of the federal government or other states.