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.