News articles in the Media regarding UMCWA
Police state harrasment of innocent people? Click here to view the internet article.. |
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Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan (Fortification laws apply only under strict rules, 11/4) outlined the two principal causes for seeking authorisation to have club "fortifications" removed. In Perth there is a prominent building that has high walls and security cameras (fortified?) and a number of members have faced criminal charges for multimillion dollar crimes. dThe membership is exclusive and discriminatory to the point it challenges anti-discrimination laws. The organisation? The Weld Club. Well commissioner, where's your application? Michael Finn, South Guilford. |
16 June 2010 | The Australian | Sally Neighbour THE High Court will today resume deliberating on a case with far-reaching implications for Australian justice. At the heart of it is whether the use of secret evidence - once unheard of, but now increasingly common in Australian courtrooms - is legal under the Constitution. In recent years, the use of secret evidence has crept steadily into an array of laws, from those against terrorism and outlaw motorcycle gangs to rules governing security, gaming, firearms and liquor licensing. The governments that pushed them through, sometimes with minimal debate and scrutiny, argue they're needed to combat terrorism and organised crime. Civil libertarians and many lawyers believe they are an insidious incursion into the rule of law and must be stopped. Many of the laws hinge on so-called criminal intelligence: material that can be relied on by police and government but kept secret from the people it's used against on the grounds that its disclosure may jeopardise an operation or expose an informer. |
| When justice is not seen to be done
16 June 2010 | The Australian | Sally Neighbour THE High Court will today resume deliberating on a case with far-reaching implications for Australian justice. At the heart of it is whether the use of secret evidence - once unheard of, but now increasingly common in Australian courtrooms - is legal under the Constitution. In recent years, the use of secret evidence has crept steadily into an array of laws, from those against terrorism and outlaw motorcycle gangs to rules governing security, gaming, firearms and liquor licensing. The governments that pushed them through, sometimes with minimal debate and scrutiny, argue they're needed to combat terrorism and organised crime. Civil libertarians and many lawyers believe they are an insidious incursion into the rule of law and must be stopped. Many of the laws hinge on so-called criminal intelligence: material that can be relied on by police and government but kept secret from the people it's used against on the grounds that its disclosure may jeopardise an operation or expose an informer. |
 Bikie Laws Back in Court The High Court has scheduled another hearing into the South Australian Government’s anti-bikie legislation. The full bench of the High Court last month began hearing an appeal from the State Government against a State Supreme Court ruling which had found part of the so-called Bikies Bill, the Serious and Organised Crimes Act, to be illegal. The case is regarded as one of the most important constitutional issues brought before the court in half a century. It involves contentious SA legislation which takes crucial power from the courts and gives it to police and politicians. Under the legislation, a government minister can ask police to seek a control order for members of a group on suspicion alone. Other state and territory governments, as well as the commonwealth, have joined SA in the action because the High Court hearing could have implications for anti-terrorism legislation, which also allows the use of untested evidence. This week the High Court wrote to lawyers in the case, asking a further seven questions to be answered in mid-June. Constitutional lawyers closely following the case say they will not be surprised if the High Court throws out the SA Government’s appeal. An independent review has already found the SA law “offends natural justice” and the legal challenge by two members of The Finks in the Supreme Court argued the law essentially violates the constitution. The Finks argued the Government can rely on faulty criminal intelligence to have control orders placed on people, including innocent associates. Speaking outside court, their lawyer Craig Caldicott said someone's neighbour could simply report an untested claim about them, which could then make its way onto a criminal intelligence file. "The police can rely on that intelligence to make their decision and forward that on to the attorney-general," Mr Caldicott said. "The attorney-general doesn't verify that evidence or how true or accurate it is." |
Sentincing Regime Attorney-General Christian Porter's comment on the nnow enacted mandatory senticing legislation are extarordinary. Each offence will be selectively dealt with on a "case by case basis". Call me old fashioned, but I always thought that the decision to imprison someone was best made by a judge or magistrate, in an open court, after hearing both sides of the argument and subject to the right at appeal. |
Bikies Evicted from Gold Bar Half a dozen bikies were evicted from the Gold Bar on Friday night, but the circumstances remain unclear. It was mooted gang members had been wearing their club colours. However, Kalgooglie Police Acting Sergeant Gerry Rafferty said that was not the case, but could not confirm why the men had to leave the pub. Sgt Rafferty said WA Police had a "no tolerance" approach to outlaw motorcycle gangs. He said gang members would rather leave a pub than take their colours off. |
Bikies unite to fight new laws
Some of WA's most notorious motorcycle clubs will launch a campaign today to fight proposed State Government laws that would prevent members associating with each other. Barely a decade since a turf war erupted between some of the clubs, the Coffin Cheaters, Club Deroes, Gypsy Jokers, God's Garbage, Outlaws, Rebels and Vietnam Veterans have joined forces to form the United Motorcycle Council of WA....... VISIT FULL STORY |
Bikies tackle club bans at conference Controversy surrounding the introduction of legislation to ban motorcycle clubs has overshadowed the Australian Motorcycle Council conference, which concludes on Sunday. The 21 delegates at the 2009 annual conference, which has started on Saturday at the Riverside South Bank Hotel, discussed road safety issues among other items on the agenda. council chairman Shaun Lennard said official had worked strenuously to improve bike safety, but it had taken a back seat in the media because of the recent introduction of anti bikie legislation in NSW. "The sad thing is the discussion about this (anti-bikie legislation) has clouded issues we've been working on for a while" he said. "we've been working hard on safety issues and where motorcycles fit in the overall transport mix" Mr Lennard said. Mr Lennard and the 21 delegates would shift their focus to the recent introduction of the anti-bikie legislation during talks on Sunday. He said about 80,000 riders from around the country will be represented at the conference, which finishes midday. |
Anti-bikie laws 'will spark violence'
Professor Paul Wilson, a forensic psychologist and chair of criminology at Bond University, says similar moves in Canada gave rise to greater violence and sparked a bikie war. South Australia and NSW have already enacted laws that allow bikie gangs to be declared criminal organisations, while other states are in the process of implementing similar measures......VISIT FULL STORY. |
A leading criminologist has warned of a major escalation in gang-related violence if state governments push ahead with anti-bikie laws.
Bikie laws on police ministers' agenda
A national push to outlaw criminal bikie gangs is high on the agenda of a meeting of Australian police ministers in Perth today. Victoria and the ACT are expected to come under pressure to draft similar legislation to laws in South Australia and NSW which can see bikie gangs declared criminal organisations, making membership a criminal offence........ VISIT FULL STORY |
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