Page 1696 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 1 April 2009
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We all recall, in 2005, Canberra’s Rebels motorcycle club threatened people from the Ulysses motorcycle club against wearing their club insignia while they were in Canberra for their annual meeting. Obviously, the local motorcycle gang, the Rebels, were intent on protecting their patch and they saw the Ulysses motorcycle club as threatening that, which I am sure they were not.
The events over the past few weeks must not go unnoticed. If any good can come out of these hateful activities, it is that it has made us all take stock and review the impact of these kinds of events on our local community. While I suspect that the New South Wales government is trying to be a bit hairy-chested in saying that it will introduce the most severe and toughest legislation in Australia, I think that we do have to take notice and we do have to take steps to clamp down on what is happening in illegal motorcycle gangs and other forms of organised crime, in the way that has happened in South Australia. And I will move on to South Australia in a minute.
If the ACT does nothing and if it sits on its own hands, we may find ourselves an island, a haven for criminal elements to infiltrate. And while the attorney and police minister says that, at the moment, we do not have particular problems from motorcycle gangs and other organised crime, that may change very quickly if the laws elsewhere change and ours do not.
If New South Wales does something or even threatens to do something and the ACT does not, the South Australian experience suggests that criminal groups, not just motorcycle gangs but the wider criminal groups, might relocate themselves relatively quickly to the ACT and elsewhere. This is probably why we have seen in recent days both the Northern Territory and Queensland saying that they too will have to look at their laws because they fear the infiltration of outlawed gangs being pushed across the border.
The reality is that there is much at stake in organised crime. The spoils of organised crime are great. Organised crime groups are quick to respond when the need arises. I think we must be diligent. While not endorsing the South Australian model as a preferred model, it is simple, clear, open and transparent legislation that clearly defines the process, includes appeal processes, has an annual judicial review mechanism and a sunset clause. Perhaps the sunset clause should be shorter than the 10 years in the South Australian legislation but, generally speaking, it is not the draconian legislation that the attorney would have us believe.
It is quite clear, from the issues that have been raised by the AFP Association, that they fear that, if the ACT does nothing, we will be in a very invidious position a few months down the track. I do note the points referred to by Mr Rattenbury in his speech when he quoted a Greg Barnes but I think that is drawing a rather long bow.
The clear intent of the South Australian legislation, and any legislation that I would support in this place, would be to address organised crime and to say that, even with our wildest imagination, trade unionists going about their business or environmental warriors could meet any common man test of organised crime is ridiculous and I think that it does nothing to further the debate to bring in red herrings like this.
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