Three months into the campaign by the Queensland government against outlaw motorcycle gangs, some meaningful analysis of the effectiveness and justification for the unprecedented measures is possible…
This week in Brisbane, police charged five Victorian men under Queensland anti-bikie legislation, which makes it an offence for gang members to congregate in groups. But do we actually enjoy freedom of…
In coming months, the High Court – the highest court in Australia and the final arbiter on the meaning of the Constitution – will decide several high-profile cases. These decisions, which may result in…
“This legislation will target only criminal motorcycle gang members. Other law abiding motorbike riders have nothing to worry about,” Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, press release, October…
Last week, Queensland’s state government introduced a number of tough new law and order measures targeting serious sexual offenders and bikies. Under the new laws, bikie gang members in Queensland face…
Bikies have become the poster boys of crime in Queensland. In the past week we’ve seen the announcement of a spartan, bikies-only jail likened to Guantanamo Bay, tough new laws rushed through a marathon…
Australia has two types of bikies: Conservatives and Radicals. The Conservative lifestyle involves riding big bikes, drinking a lot, punching your mates and enemies, then falling over and sleeping it off…
In the world of illegal markets and organised crime, money is the prime mover. Legal or not, if someone’s willing to buy, odds are someone else is willing to supply. In the two decades or so since the…
We all know how organised crime works, right? Form a shadowy group (think the Japanese Yakuza, the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, the Sinaloa Cartel, an outlaw motorcycle gang - take your pick), preferably one…
A police officer meets someone in a bar, one thing leads to another and within a few weeks a relationship blossoms. The officer then discovers that the person’s brother is a known criminal. Or an officer…
Last week, the High Court upheld Queensland’s controversial criminal association laws, which had been challenged by the Gold Coast Chapter of the Finks Motor Cycle Club and Pompano Pty Ltd. The challenge…
The Australian Greens have proposed the introduction of a National Integrity Commission to provide an anti-corruption body operating at the federal level. Earlier this week, Greens MP Adam Bandt announced…
Police across Australia have called for a uniform national law to deal with what they say is a severe criminal threat by outlaw motorcycle gangs. The law would be similar to legislation in South Australia…