The Fitzgerald era was a mad frenzy, likened to the Salem witch trials, Joseph McCarthy's communist crusade and the burning of Joan of Arc, according federal MP Bob Katter.

The sensational analogies lit up Queensland Parliament as a committee considered a bill to reverse the sacking of Supreme Court Justice Angelo Vasta in 1989.

An inquiry had found no misconduct in relation to Mr Vasta's decisions as a Supreme Court justice, but it did find he had committed acts of misconduct in relation to tax arrangements, which prompted the Parliament to vote to sack him.

However, Mr Vasta was not charged with any offences.

Mr Katter, the federal member for Kennedy, compared the late 1980s with Joan of Arc, McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials.

"There was a lady in France who was burned at the stake," he said.

"The church decided she was a witch. Her great courage leadership finished the 100 year war in which a quarter of the population of England and France lay dead.

"Her name was Joan of Arc. It was 100 years later that she was reinstated as a saint of the church."

Mr Katter said the atmosphere at the time of Mr Vasta's removal by the Queensland Parliament was one of fear.

"Why didn't I stand up? Cowardice. Am I going to stand up? And defend the witches? In Salem? In the witch burning?" he said.

"I am not that courageous person I can tell you."

Mr Katter was a member of the Queensland Parliament from 1974 to 1992 and was part of the government which supported Mr Vasta's removal, but said he always regretted that decision.

Mr Katter said the government appointed itself "judge and jury" and there was no evidence Mr Vasta was guilty of anything.

"If there was anything there, surely it would have come out," he said.

Mr Katter also said while there was corruption in the police force, there was never any in the government.

He said Mr Vasta, with a Sicilian and cane-cutting background, was a "pawn" in a class struggle of establishment vs non-establishment.

Asked why he was not in federal Parliament - which was sitting on Wednesday - by media after the hearing, Mr Katter said this bill was more important: "That justice be done and be seen to be done."

Mr Katter's son, state member for Mount Isa Robbie Katter, has introduced a bill to revoke the decision to remove Mr Vasta as a judge.

Speaking to the Parliamentary committee considering the bill, Mr Vasta said there was a "mad frenzy" surrounding the Fitzgerald years and the decision to remove him was "fundamentally fraud".

"Corruption was seen behind every bush, oh if you were a friend of the commissioner of police or if you do this, well you were tarred with the same brush," Mr Vasta said.

"There was just this mad frenzy that was afoot."

However, former premier Mike Ahern said it was not enough to say a person was "OK providing they don't go to jail".

"A judge's conduct has to be of a higher category," he said.

Mr Ahern said the process was "absolutely right", and the Parliament had to accept the findings of the inquiry, headed by Sir Harry Gibbs.

"There was no way that we could sit down sensibly in a Fitzgerald environment, when all of this was pouring out... It was not a suitable environment to be further reviewing anything, really. It was chaotic at times," he said.

"It was a question of getting on with the job of respecting the job that the eminent people [running the inquiry] had done.

"I believe [the decision] was the right one."

Mr Ahern said he was confused about Mr Katter's fears.

"I couldn't understand it quite frankly - the whole conspiracy thing," he thing.

The Queensland government paid Mr Vasta $600,000 compensation in 1996, which Mr Ahern said was appropriate.

"This process here put a flag in the sand, drew a line," Mr Ahern said.

"One particular justice had these standards applied so payment was necessary."

Mr Ahern said the process would probably be done differently now because the context was different.

"It was 28 years ago and it should be left to rest and taken on board as experience," he said.

Mr Vasta said to revisit the process would be more complex than passing the bill and would require a new commission and revisiting a decision of a former governor.

"It seems to me there must be later evidence, some of it has been brought here to your attention, there may be others," he said.

"[It would] send a message to the people of Queensland that we thought all this Fitzgerald stuff was wrapped up and now you're going to reopen it again.

"I think there'll be an adverse reaction to that."