Gold Coast bookmaker’s fury over phone hacking

A Gold Coast bookmaker spent more than $18,000 to protect his phones from being hacked, amid a spree of interceptions which gained national attention.

It is 1987. Bob Hawke and John Howard slug it out at the election, Scott and Charlene Robinson get married on Aussie soap Neighbours and work is underway on the Sheraton Mirage.

Although we do not know it, we’re also getting our first taste of the mobile revolution, with a “honeycomb network” introduced by Telecom that “allows pocket-sized mobile phones to stifle stickybeaks and be used in the most ridiculous places”.

The system, described as “the bees knees”, allowed callers to find you anywhere through the cellular network using air-wave frequencies.

“This makes the ‘future phone’ particularly private,” said Telecom Queensland boss Neil Watson 35 years ago this month.

Mobile Phone The Walkabout, famously nicknamed "The brick" was manufactured by Mitsubishi and was Australia's first handheld mobile phone. It was one of three phones in the 'Explorer' range that launched on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

“No snoopers can listen in because of its frequently changing frequencies,” he said.

This was a particularly hot topic at the time as the then-popular car phones were vulnerable to interception from anyone with a store-bought radio scanner.

Four months earlier a Gold Coast bookmaker had revealed the lengths to avoid being picked up.

The unnamed bookmaker told News Corp he had spent $18,000 to secure his car phone and office with more than 30 hi-tech phone “scramblers”.

The bookmaker said he “took seriously the threat of someone intercepting his calls to get confidential racing information”.

“I could be making one call that would pay for my scramblers. It was money well spent,’’ he said.

1987 saw a spree of phone interceptions as the mobile revolution began.

A Telecom executive speaking to the Bulletin suggested that then-Liberal MP Andrew Peacock would have found the Gold Coast’s network useful instead of the car phone he was using.

This was a reference to a political scandal involving Mr Peacock, the former federal Coalition leader, and then-Victorian Opposition Leader Jeff Kennett.

Mr Kennett phoned Mr Peacock from his car and the pair spoke about Mr Howard and his leadership, which was struggling against the Joh for Canberra campaign.

Unfortunately for the conservative pair, their car phone conversation was intercepted by a Victorian man and released to the media, forcing Mr Howard to sack Mr Peacock, his long-time leadership rival, from the frontbench.

John Howard sacked Andrew Peacock (back) after his infamous phone call with Jeff Kennett in March 1987.

Mr Watson told the Bulletin Telecom would spend $150m to introduce its MobileNet across Australia.

“The incoming signal homes in on the mobile phone wherever it is, finding the location in any part of Australia,” he said.

“The owner can program it to reject or redirect calls.

“Car phones, as we know them, are on the way out. The cellular system technology suggests that the wristwatch-sized phones of such comic book characters as Dick Tracey may be the next step.”

At the time, the Gold Coast had among the highest concentrations of car phones, with prominent figures such as Stefan Ackerie and property developer Mike Gore among their owners.

Mr Gore himself owned 12 and was the victim of interception at the time.

“I think it is appalling that they can listen to a private conversation,’’ he said. “I use the phone all the time I am in the car. It’s an incredibly important business tool that can’t be used to its fullest extent because of the problems (of interception).”

Mike Gore

Little did Mr Watson realise that in less than 30 years smart watches, such as the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear, would function exactly as predicted and allow users to act out their Dick Tracey fantasies.

Mr Watson told the Bulletin the size of your purse or a wallet would decide the next step for ’80s consumers, suggesting small businesses would turn the latest mobile phone gadgetry into big business.

“They don’t come cheaply but the day is coming where every home will have one,” he said. “We won’t need overhead wires or underground cables.”

At the time, phones ranged in price from $2950 to $684, depending on the level of sophistication.

A Gold Coast firm, Mobiletronics, entered the market in an effort to take on other leaders, including NEC, Mitsubishi Electronics, Air International and Racal Electronics. Not an Apple or Samsung in sight.

To complete the city’s network, a repeater was installed on the roof of the council’s Evandale headquarters at Bundall, which increased the signal across the region.

Now, 35 years after Mr Watson’s predictions, the future has well and truly arrived.

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