From the Australian Broadcasting Commision website
www.abc.net.au Today
"Contract killings a cut-price hit
The first national study on contract killings in Australia has revealed they can be motivated for as little as $500 or an offer of a car.
The study by South Australian police and the Australian Institute of Criminology looked at 163 murders or attempted murders between 1989 until 2002.
It revealed the average payment for a contract killing was $16,000, with guns as the most common method and failed relationships as the reason.
Detective Inspector John Venditto of the South Australian police, who co-wrote the report, says it dispels the myth that contract killings only involve drug deals or high financial motives.
"It's not just in the domain of organised crime and criminals and drug lords - this happens in suburban Australia to an extent that I think people didn't...normally realise," he said.
The report also reveals contract killings amount to only 2 per cent of all homicides in Australia.