With Askin's death in 1981, investigative journalists were freed from the threat of legal action under Australia's defamation laws. Stories about his reputed corruption were published almost immediately. Most notable of these was an article that appeared in "The National Times" co-written by David Marr and David Hickie. Headlined "Askin: friend of organised crime", it was published on the day of Askin's funeral. This was followed by David Hickie's book "The Prince and The Premier", which detailed Askin's long involvement in illegal bookmaking and allegations that he had received substantial and long-running payoffs from organised crime figures.