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

Rhian April 9

I agree .

However threatening behaviour ?

An individual yes .

A Militant Organisation no !

While I'm no fan of outlaw gangs of any description, I think that these "Bikie" laws are far more frightening and dangerous than the tiny fraction of society that they are purportedly designed to control.

What's happened to our society, where the sheeple meekly accept these almost daily assaults on such civil rights as we have?

I have friends who are members of the Ulysses club, which is comprised largely of middle-aged men who've undergone their mid-life crisis and bought Harleys. They are by no stretch criminals, but they are apparently being tarred with the same brush by these outrageous laws.

No wonder so many people are agitating for an Australian Bill of Rights or similar.

CJM 10 04 09

Re Ulysses Club

I didn't think anybody would mistake Ulysses for any of the Misfits in the other Clubs .

I recall a civilized Ulysses? (I think) Couple liked the "Patch" that flies above the backs of some Club .
They made their own , this was about 3 yrs ago I think , they were rounded up and assaulted and updated with Harley Misfit Laws .

These people need to wake up grow up shed the violent uncivilized persona .
These people don't need special laws or allowances or Rights of Passage to protect them from the Civilized .

Sharkfin, you clearly have not yet read the new NSW law.

If police present secret evidence, then an innocent person can be made the subject of a control order, without being able to prove that the evidence is false. A judge is not going to know that the evidence is false, or that there is an innocent explanation.

The worst that could then happen is that the person can lose their job if they work in certain named industries, and be prevented (on pain of two year's imprisonment for the first offence and five for a second) from associating with any other person subject to a control order. (There are some exceptions--you can continue to associate with a spouse or a doctor for instance).

Secret evidence can also be presented at a subsequent trial, when the person can be sent to prison.

Denial of bail does not leave a person in prison for a day or two, but commonly for a year or two--unless the case is thrown out.

This is bombe Alaska legislation. The Government crumbles as soon as the police demand new powers, and the opposition pretends to be firm, but melts like an icecream in the oven.

"...socially alienated anti-establishment sub-cultures."

Hahahahaha That's one way put it. What, youse are gonna start wearing a big red V on your back and dedicate your 'fight against the man' to ME??. lol

State, Territory and Federal have their own task force SPECIFICALLY for bikie gangs. Why?. Just for the giggles of it?.

This person that wrote this would rather have a trial by ignorant and a sensationalist driven public opinion than where the trial SHOULD be held and by who should trial them.

Bikie gangs are predators. Surprised you don't fill those teddy bears you take to the childrens hospital with drugs as it is. Cut out the middle man, eh?. More profit?.

Ozbib, I do understand your concerns about this legislation, and under certain dictatorships and corrupt governments that do not actually allow freedom of the press those concerns would be well founded.

Although the evidence would be secret, the fact that a person was arrested subject to these laws would certainly be headlined by the media in this country. That would mean that the arrest would be subject to strong scrutiny by powerful politicans who would require strong proof from their intelligence agencies that the evidence was valid because they would have to justify themselves to the public when the truth surfaced as it invariably would. AS we saw in the recent arrest of the Indian Doctor who was related to overseas terrorists, there was no let up in the please justify this by the media and the public.

I actually think the politicians did the right thing in detaining him until they could scrutinize the evidence they had. In the end after more intelligence gathering they couldn’t find enough evidence to prove his involvement and they said so and let him go.
They did their job in protecting the public by detaining him until they knew for sure.
The press made sure the public were totally aware of what was happening every step of the way.