State Parliamentary Career
Hatton was the member for the New South Wales lower house seat of South Coast between 1973 and 1995. A measure of Hatton's local popularity occurred in the 1976 state election where he polled in excess of 77% of the first preference formal votes. Shortly after becoming elected Hatton donated a parliamentary pay rise to charity because it hadn't been granted by an independent body. John Hatton was elected as an independent for this seat for 22 years through the Askin, Lewis, Willis, Wran, Unsworth, Greiner and Fahey governments to 1995. He used parliamentary privilege to expose organised crime in the Griffith mafia, police corruption and malfeasance within government departments and agencies. In 1994, by 46 votes to 45, he forced the minority Fahey Government to establish the Wood Royal Commission into Police Corruption. This ground-breaking royal commission overcome objections from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, led to widespread reform of the NSW Police Force and the establishment of the Police Integrity Commission.
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