I tend to agree with the basic premise of this article.

Australia seems to have become a fearful nation. And the fear seems to be largely (not wholly) manufactured in response to some agenda which has certainly resulted in the acceptance of curtailment of liberties.

I think part of this stems - as have so many of Australia's 'personal problems' - from geographic isolation. Even though there is an increase now in numbers of those who travel to other countries, there is not the constant traffic between countries that citizens of Europe, the Continent and the UK participate in.

The sight of suburbs virtually locked down at night while fearful occupants huddle behind locked doors afriad of the rampaging crime and lawlessness 'out there' is unequalled in other countries where, arguably, more street violence exists.

Throughout Europe and the Continent there seems to be more acceptance of those outside the mainstream who, in Australia, are increasingly becoming the feared 'other'. The bikies mentioned in the article being a case in point.

Each time I come back to Australia from elsewhere I revel in the freedom and safety that is one of our most outstanding characteristics. It saddens me that increasingly Australians themselves don't recognise this and quote media statistics endlessly to support their increasing - and unnecessary - fearfulness.

A typical example of how the media tries to whip up public outrage can be seen by the seemingly endless number of articles and programs directed at so called “revenue raising” activities of police.

A number of typically outraged citizens will voice their opinion usually along the lines of “why aren’t they out catching the real criminals?”

Locations of speed cameras and booze checking spots are broadcast freely over radio and online. There is always a smugness associated with the broadcaster as if they are providing some valuable public service.

The less drunks, stoners and speed freaks on the road the better I would have thought.

But stories like this get a lot of attention mainly because most people drive and most people have an opinion about driving.

Undoubtedly, some of the “real” criminals are bikers. There is, of course, much documented evidence relating to biker gangs and criminal activity.

I can remember a time in the 1970s in Brisbane when it was not uncommon for a bike rider to be pulled over by police a number of times in one day.

As with any organised group that involves itself in crime there probably needs to be a section of the police force commissioned to investigate that specific group.

Don’t expect the media to change anytime soon

What a Spin Doctor you are , You make Rudd look like an angel .

So you want me to believe it's all kerfuddel ?

Children and Parents etc watch on while one of your heathen mates belt someones brains out with a lump of iron in Australia's Premier Airport ................come on Pal..... even by your non existent standards of humanity , this is more than Ho Hum .
You model yourselves as descendent's of the Third Reich then expect the People to provide you passage .
Before you can comment on Human Rights etc you need to line yourself up with the People , you know "The frightened Wimps" you allude to .
Demonstrate how , what is a frustrated band of misfits can be assimilated into mainstream society .
Harley Davidson's seem to be a catalyst engendering disgusting and violent behavior and contempt for the law of our land and clash with the sensitivities of our People . An option for the Gov't might be to ban Harley's .
Clean up your act before you find yourselves going round and round in ever diminishing circles on a BirdsPoo island out in the Pacific .

ShazBaz001

If someone commits assault or murder, we should charge them with assault or murder. If they deal drugs, threaten other folk, drive dangerously or do anything against our existing laws, we should charge them with that too. There are laws that address all these things, and they apply equally to bikies and everyone else.

We cross an important line when we start discriminating against any class of citizens or stripping them of rights because of who they associate with, where they hang out, what they wear and what vehicles they drive

Bill, I would go so far as to say, that today, most politics, the media and their handmaiden's sell multi-media fiction (deliberately destructive and reconstructive politically convenient elements combining any information, dated file, copy, fit, clip, pictures and archive footage as real and relevant montage) designed for the moment, only, which deliver disastrous policies and laws,then further making more media and political millage when these problems need to be addressed, and subsequently promoting themselves as the good guys when repairing the damage created, all at no cost to these creative geniuses, while promoting divisions and conflict within the community and hopeful more political and media mayhem which equals further political profit via this nefariously competitive and creative destruction.

The inhumanity of branding people.

People brand themselves, when they hook up with groups that are connected with certain activities in the minds of the public.

There is a point at which the letter of the law and common sense do not connect.

How often have any of us felt frustated at the sight of rabble groups that act intimidatingly to innocent people trying to go about their business in areas where these huge groups have no right to be loitering around as they obviously have no legitimate purpose for being there.

Proposed New Laws-
>Act preemptively on the basis of suspicion
If the police could act preemptively on the basis of suspicion of the intent of these groups the worst that may happen is they would be cleared off the streets for 24hours and then sent home. This would allow the police to avert the trouble before it starts.
The only thing these groups would suffer is a bit of hurt feelings or humiliation if they are there not really meaning any serious harm.

>Establish guilt by association
Quote- “Fly with the crows get shot down with the crows”. What was your motive in being with them in the first place when they have gone somewhere to obviously start trouble?

>Refuse access to bail.
This allows known troublemaking groups to be kept off the streets for a cooling down period. Again the innocent will merely suffer indignation and not much else if the time period is limited to a day or two. Again the result of flying with the crows. One's own choice

>Admit secretly obtained information as evidence that cannot be publicly scrutinized.
Doesn’t something similiar to this already happen in rape trials to protect the identity of the victim. The judge could still throw it out of court.

Just another conspiracy theory beat up to keep the law on the side of the troublemakers