Editing Kerry Packer (section)

==Controversy==
Packer was often the centre of controversy. One of the earliest incidents occurred on 7 June 1960, when his father was trying to take over the Anglican Press, a small publisher run by [[Francis James]]. According to author [[Richard Neville (writer)|Richard Neville]], Frank Packer was angered by James's refusal to sell the Anglican Press, so he sent Kerry and some burly friends to pressure him into selling. They forced their way in and reportedly began vandalising the premises, but James was able to barricade himself in his office and call Rupert Murdoch, Packer's most powerful rival. Murdoch quickly dispatched his own team of 'heavies', who threw Kerry and friends out. Not surprisingly, the Murdoch press had a field day with the news that the son of Australia's biggest media tycoon had been caught brawling in the street.<ref>{{cite book |author=Neville, Richard |author-link=Richard Neville (writer) |title=Hippie, Hippie, Shake: The Dreams, the Trips, the Trials, the Love-ins, the Screw ups – the Sixties |publisher=[[William Heinemann|William Heinemann Australia]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-85561-523-0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nine-tenths of the law|url=http://inside.org.au/nine-tenths-of-the-law/|work=Inside Story|date=3 June 2010 |publisher=Swinburne Institute|access-date=16 September 2013}}</ref>

Like Murdoch, Packer's critics saw his ever-expanding cross-media holdings as a potential threat to media diversity and [[freedom of speech]]. He also repeatedly came under fire for his companies' alleged involvement in [[Tax evasion|tax evasion schemes]] and for the extremely low amounts of [[Corporate tax|company tax]] that his corporations are reported to have paid over the years. He fought repeated battles with the [[Australian Taxation Office]] over his corporate taxes.

His most severe legal challenge came in 1984 with the [[Costigan Commission]] alleging (using the codename of "the squirrel", renamed "the [[Goanna]]" in media reports<ref>{{cite news | last = Huxley | first = John | url = https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/costigan-angry-and-sticking-to-his-guns/2006/02/20/1140284005849.html | title = Costigan angry and sticking to his guns | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date = 21 February 2006 }}</ref>) that he was involved in tax evasion and [[Organized crime|organised crime]], including [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]]. He successfully counter-attacked the commission with the assistance of his counsel [[Malcolm Turnbull]]. In 1987, the charges were formally dismissed by [[Attorney-General of Australia|Attorney-General]] [[Lionel Bowen]]. Mystery surrounded Packer's receipt of a "loan" of A$225,000 in cash from Brian Ray, a bankrupt Queensland businessman.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/missing-a-mate-with-a-loan-for-packer/2005/07/10/1120934128872.html |title=Missing: a mate with a loan for Packer |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=4 October 1983 |access-date=31 March 2010}}</ref> When questioned about this transaction at the Costigan Royal Commission, Packer said "...I like cash. I have a squirrel mentality. I like to keep money in cash. It is by no means the most cash I ever had in my life."<ref name='Molloy 2007'>{{cite book |last=Molloy |first=Andrew |title=I'll Toss You For It! |publisher=Australian Media Pty Ltd |year=2007 |location=Double Bay, NSW |page=12 |url=http://www.kerrypacker.com |isbn=978-0-646-47901-9 }}</ref>

Notwithstanding the significant efforts made to preserve his security and privacy, Packer suffered two mysterious break-ins at his companies' headquarters in Park Street, Sydney:
* In 1995, 25 gold bars, weighing a total of {{convert|285|kg}}—equivalent to A$23.3 million at 2022 gold prices—and a [[Vegemite]] jar full of gold nuggets were stolen from Packer's personal safe;<ref>{{cite news |title=Crimes can't avoid DNA tests of time|author1=Ongaro, Daniela |author2=Morri, Mark |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/crimes-cant-avoid-dna-tests-of-time/story-e6frg6n6-1226573885843 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=9 February 2013 |access-date=12 August 2013}}
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* In 2003, a licensed [[Glock]] {{convert|9|mm|in|adj=on}} semi-automatic pistol was stolen from a desk drawer on the executive level. Packer was not charged with failing to "keep safe" the weapon, but he did subsequently surrender his firearms licence.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/19/1045638361027.html |title=Packer hands in licence for pistol stolen from desk |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=20 February 2003 |access-date=31 March 2010}}</ref>

Packer broke the [[Sporting boycott of South Africa during the apartheid era|sports boycott]] of [[apartheid]] South Africa which prevented South African sportsmen from representing their country when he recruited a number of South African cricketers to play on his World Series Cricket Team. His timing was criticised, coming just months after the [[Soweto riots]] and the death of [[Steve Biko]], murdered by the members of the South African security forces.