controls while Askin held the wheel. Askin's government was marked by strong opposition to an increase in Commonwealth powers, a tough stance on "law and order" issues, laissez-faire economic policies, and aggressive support for industrial and commercial development. At his first Cabinet meeting, Askin restored direct air services between Sydney and Dubbo, and required Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect then working on the Sydney Opera House, to provide a final price and completion date for the Opera House, which had gone past the original estimates for both. His Public Works Minister Davis Hughes began to assert control over the project and demanded that costs be reined in. This brought him into direct conflict with Utzon and in February 1966, after a bitter standoff and the suspension of progress payments by Hughes, Utzon resigned, sparking a major public outcry. Two weeks after the first Government meeting, the Askin Government abolished the tow-away system for Sydney and Newcastle. In 1966 the University of New South Wales awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.). Law reform Despite a hostile Legislative Council, an extended drought and various industrial disputes, Askin and his Government passed several reforms. Among them were the removal of trading-hours restrictions on small businesses, abolishing juries for motor accident damage cases, extending the hours for liquor trading, thereby bringing an end to the "Six o'clock swill". The Government also moved into legal and local government reforms, attacking pollution and restoring the previously abolished postal voting rights in state elections. Askin also addressed the demands of the New England New State Movement by holding a referendum in 1967, which was defeated by a large margin. Many of his government's reforms were due to his Minister for Justice, John Maddison, and Attorney-General Sir Kenneth McCaw, who initiated the establishment of the Law Reform Commission of New South Wales, the introduction of consumer laws, an ombudsman, legal aid, health labels on cigarette packs, breath-testing of drivers, limits on vehicle emissions, the liberalisation of liquor laws, and compensation for victims of violent crime. There was also a new National Parks and Wildlife Service to assist environment conservation and protection. Despite these positive reforms, Askin's government maintained a brutal prison and corrective regime that was to culminate in the Bathurst Gaol riots in 1970 and 1974. Local government and planning Askin, along with his Minister for Local Government, Pat Morton, oversaw the rapid escalation of