bikers unite- free australia party, S.A laws unite bikers across australia

[cattivo]

NEW SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LAWS ARE GOING TO UNITE BIKERS ACROSS AUSTRALIA AS THEY ALL WILL HAVE A COMMON ENEMY AND AS THE OLD SAYING GOES

MY ENEMYS ENEMY IS MY FRIEND WILL THESE NEW LAWS JUST MAKE BIKERS MORE ORGANIZED AND STRONGER

GO THE FREE AUSTRALIA PARTY !!!!!!!!!








New laws target outlaw gangs

Reporter: Mike Sexton

KERRY O'BRIEN: For most people, a bikie turf war is a case of "out of sight, out of mind", but a series of violent incidents in the past week has police concerned that innocent bystanders could be caught in crossfire. In Sydney, a battle between the Rebels and the Nomads bikie gangs resulted in two arson attacks and a near-fatal assault. And in South Australia, police fear simmering tensions between the Rebels and the Hell's Angels gangs could erupt into full-scale war after shots were fired at a black-tie event last week. On another front, police intelligence suggests these outlaw gangs are infiltrating the security business as a cover for drug dealing. And now the South Australian Government has passed controversial new laws covering the licensing of crowd controllers which it hopes will curb the growing influence of the gangs. Mike Sexton reports.

MIKE SEXTON: It's Friday night in Adelaide. The nightclub strip in the city is filling up. And as much a part of the scene as bright lights and loud music are the bouncers or crowd controllers, whose job it is to keep the peace.

PHIL TSIPIANITIS, SECURITY MANAGER: You need someone that's confident, someone that even in a situation that might seem a bit scary, a bit tense, he can still sort of hold himself up and deal with it.

MIKE SEXTON: But recently, a sinister shadow has been cast over the security industry in this state, with reports that a significant number of crowd controllers are linked to outlaw bikies.

MICHAEL ATKINSON, SA ATTORNEY-GENERAL: The police tell us that eight out of 10 licensed venues in the central business district have crowd controllers supplied to them by companies associated with outlaw motorcycle gangs.

MIKE SEXTON: According to police, two bikie clubs, the Hell's Angels and the Rebels, are linked to a spate of violence, including shootings, bashings and bombings. Now they say the clubs are involved in providing security for some city nightclubs, which has created a new front in their turf war - something that reached a flashpoint last month at a black-tie function, at the Adelaide Dance Music Awards.

REPORTER: Furniture was upturned and shots fired at the music awards on Monday night after up to seven men stormed the building in front of hundreds of shocked guests.

REPORTER: Police in Adelaide have named the Hell's Angels and Rebels motorcycle gangs as being involved in Monday's brawl and shooting at Football Park.

POLICE SPOKESPERSON: This stems from a dispute between the clubs involving their association with two nightclubs in Adelaide.

MIKE SEXTON: The government is convinced bikies use their presence in the nightclubs as a front for selling drugs.

MICHAEL ATKINSON: Amphetamines and other drugs have been sold inside these premises. Very little is going over the bar in alcohol - a lot of water is going over the bar to dilute the effect of the drugs - and the crowd controllers are there to protect the trade in drugs by that gang.

MIKE SEXTON: Are there blokes who are crowd controllers who shouldn't be?

PHIL TSIPIANITIS: Look, that's - I can't say that there's not. I mean, in any industry, whether it's security or whether it's - whatever it may be - taxi driving, for example - you're going to get a few rotten apples.

STEVE WILLIAMS, FORMER GYPSY JOKERS PRESIDENT, SA: I think it's foolhardy and another desperate grasp at some sort of vote-grabbing. What do they call it? - grandstanding again.

MIKE SEXTON: Steve Williams is the former president of the Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club in South Australia. He's no longer involved with the club and now works as a security consultant and believes bikies are being unfairly targeted.

STEVE WILLIAMS: He seems to pick these areas where there's no particular spokesperson or no union or anything like that to answer back as a whole and paints a picture of these social bogey men - "We're going to get 'em, we're going to get 'em."

MIKE SEXTON: As a result of the drug allegations and the violence, the South Australian Government has introduced new laws designed to clean up the industry by taking away the licences of those considered undesirable. Under the new law, crowd controllers can be fingerprinted, subjected to random drug and alcohol tests and, most significantly, in a similar way to the old consorting laws, could have their licence rebuked if they're known associates of criminals or bikies.

CHIEF INSPECTOR ASHLEY LANGE, SA LICENSING ENFORCEMENT: Yes, we will target specific people in that industry that our intelligence holdings would suggest that they need specific attention to be paid in relation to those.

MICHAEL ATKINSON: No-one has a right to be a crowd controller. They're so important at our venues that I'm willing to take the risk that 1,000 or 2,000 of them will be removed from the trade and that indeed we may have a shortage of licensed crowd controllers for a period to clean up the trade.

MIKE SEXTON: Phil Tsipianitis believes the key to a bouncer being effective is experience, knowing who's who and anticipating trouble. Part of that is getting to know patrons, including bikies.

PHIL TSIPIANITIS: I've been in situations where there happens to be a certain person in a certain club, inside there having a drink and I know that when another mob sort of turn up, there's going to be fuel for fire there. In doing so, in sort of knowing what's what and what's happening, I have averted a lot of trouble sometimes.

MIKE SEXTON: In theory under the new laws, a crowd controller could lose his licence for that association. The Law Society of South Australia has written to the Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, arguing that the legislation risks going against one of the foundations of the legal system - the presumption of innocence. Mr Atkinson concedes that the law runs the risk of removing innocent crowd controllers but believes it's a risk worth taking.

MICHAEL ATKINSON: We're going to crack down through this legislation and bring in a law that, on its face, could be quite unjust in its operation. Many of these people we're targeting are cleanskins - they don't have any convictions - but nevertheless, they need to be removed from the trade because of their association with the gangs.

STEVE WILLIAMS: They could take your licence and not even tell you. This guy's just writing up the rules as he goes.

MIKE SEXTON: Lou Klement runs a pub in the centre of the city and employs crowd controllers for his busy days. He hasn't had a fight here for three years but worries that that will change if the predictions that thousands of bouncers will leave the industry come true. He fears such a dramatic reduction will leave him with inexperienced guards on his door.

LOU KLEMENT, HOTEL MANAGER: My personal opinion, I don't think it will help in any way. I've had the same security company here for a number of years and the guys that I've had working here, I don't know them personally, I don't know their history or background. As long as they're doing the job right here, I'm happy with those particular individuals.

MIKE SEXTON: Tonight clubs will be open and crowd controllers will be on the doors. How many will continue to work will be a test of the government's tough stand and the intelligence it's based on.

STEVE WILLIAMS: It's going to affect the guys who are bringing home the bread and butter for their families there.

MICHAEL ATKINSON: These gangs are engaging in a war with one another and the danger is that members of the public will be harmed in the crossfire.

[adrian]

Bikie gang to be outlawed

SOUTH Australian police have moved to effectively ban the Finks motorcycle gang using world-first legislation to crack down on their criminal activities.

Police Commissioner Mal Hyde confirmed today an application had been forwarded to Attorney-General Michael Atkinson to have the Finks named a "declared organisation'' under tough new anti-gang laws.

If successful the declaration will essentially make it illegal for gang members to meet or gather together.

The new laws, which came into effect in September, also allow magistrates to issue control orders against gang members and introduce a new offence of criminal association to stop gang members and their hangers-on from gathering.

The Finks are the first group targeted by the new legislation, but further applications to outlaw other bikie gangs are expected, with police likely to move against street gangs as well.

When the new laws came into effect Assistant Commissioner Tony Harrison said officers had been working for some time to prepare cases against key groups, with bikie gangs the first in their sights.

"What we have been doing is considering all of the outlaw motorcycle gangs and their respective criminal activity,'' he said at the time.

"We've been going through a fairly comprehensive process in relation to consolidating our information and it won't be too far down the track that we will be moving forward and making an application for the declaration process.''

Police intelligence suggests there are about 250 initiated members of eight bikie gangs operating in South Australia, with a further 150 people closely associated with those groups.

Mr Atkinson said the new laws were a clear message that those people were not welcome in South Australia.

"They should either leave their gangs or leave the state.

"We will pursue them until they do,'' he said in September.

"Members of these gangs are responsible for dealing drugs, using deadly weapons, murders and countless assaults, not to mention the blackmail and intimidation these bullies inflict if they feel threatened.''

A spokeswoman for Mr Hyde said police would not comment further while the declaration process against the Finks was underway.

[adrian]

Recently about 600 bikies from several clubs arranged a ride (in South Australia I think). It was disguised as a fun ride type thing but in effect it was a show of strength and an intimidation tactic. I still don't know how it can be illegal for bikie gang members in South Australia to socialise. I understand some of them are into major crime but surely this law is impinging on basic human rights. Years ago there was a law..... 'consorting with known criminals' although this one was scrapped as it was ridiculous