Queensland Bikie Crackdown
Tuesday 22 October 2013 @ 9.08 a.m. | Crime
Queensland’s state government has introduced even tougher new measures targeting the state's bikies. Most significant is the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013, which places mandatory additional sentences on associates of criminal gangs: 15 years for an ordinary associate and 25 years for an office bearer. While serving a further sentence, prisoners are ineligible for parole unless they co-operate with law enforcement.
Jail terms also apply for riding in groups or wearing club colours to a hotel.
Critics have said that the new legislation makes serious incursions into fundamental human rights, including the right to be free from arbitrary detention, the right to a fair trial before an independent judge and the right to free speech and association.
In Queensland, opposition to the legislation is already mounting, with the Australian Motorcycle Council set to open a fighting fund to raise money for any High Court challenge.
Since the beginning of the states’ “war on bikies” in the 2000s, the High Court has found many anti-bikie measures to be unconstitutional, because they compromised the independence and impartiality of the state judiciary or the judicial process.
However, although mandatory sentences are historically unusual, the High Court has affirmed recently (in the case of people smugglers) that they are indeed constitutional.
Due to Queensland's unicameral system, the new bikie laws were introduced and passed in only three sitting days last week. Each bill was declared urgent, and no outside consultation occurred.
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Sources:
Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013 via LawOne by TimeBase
