The national war on bikie gangs

[andy2476]

there is no national war on anything. What you have is queensland using so called bikie crime wave to shoe horn the state back to the darkest days of pre fitzgerald police state. Suck shit Queensland you'll get what you deserve because you voted for it.

And bikies will be more than happy to set up shop somewhere else and leave Qld to it's honest hometown ways. Like dodgy property development and casinos. 3 more licenses for casinos have just been optioned. great stuff.

[tonka79]

there is no national war on anything. What you have is queensland using so called bikie crime wave to shoe horn the state back to the darkest days of pre fitzgerald police state. Suck shit Queensland you'll get what you deserve because you voted for it.

And bikies will be more than happy to set up shop somewhere else and leave Qld to it's honest hometown ways. Like dodgy property development and casinos. 3 more licenses for casinos have just been optioned. great stuff.

sorry but not all of us voted for newman 'shambles' campbell.

andy, you'd be pleased to hear that our government has introduced laws to allow the AG to over-rule the judiciary in relation to the potential release of sex-offenders. While I'm no fan of sex-offenders, I do believe we should have some respect for the constitution and the separation of powers. It will be interesting to see when these new laws are challenged....

These guys are crazed with power... And for the casinos.... why?! for the love of God, WHY?

[Nick Carroll]

Fong have you ever heard of the separation of powers?

It's one of the keystones of our legal and governmental system. It separates the day to day workings of the justice system from the actions of government.

What it is intended to ensure is that politicians cannot interfere with the workings of the courts. (And vice versa -- which is an even more interesting argument for the separation of powers -- but we're not in that ball park here.)

Why is this important? Well for one thing, it means that what you call "community expectations" does NOT hold sway in courts and the practice of justice. I mean, really, what do you think you're talking about, "community expectations"? Are they just what you expect, right now in this stage of your life? Are they what you and quite a few of your friends expect, or talked about recently? Are they based on what happened yesterday or what's likely to happen tomorrow?

"Community expectations" are not in any way a reliable gauge of effective justice in any area. They're too shape-shifty. They're based on sand. Today's "community expectations" are tomorrow's nonsense. Laws that deal with serious shit, that put people away for long periods of time, that are pushed and tested in courtrooms, have to be considered and shown to work or otherwise over long arcs, not altered and prosecuted by some politician trying for the cheap vote or worse.

See, politicians will make laws - or try to - to suit themselves. Try to picture a society where they not only make those laws but decide on a case by case basis how and where and when to enforce them - and not. Try to picture a society where they do all this without any checks or balances - where the courts and the jails and the cops are agents of the political party who happens to be in charge.

Now try to imagine a politician taking a dislike to you or one of your family, and having the power to charge, arrest and convict you. Or even, say, you running foul of "community expectations" that arise without your knowledge or permission?

The Qld Govt has historical form on this. It was the basis of the whole Joh/Russ Hinze circus. "Community expectations" led to the National Party passing laws that prevented public demonstrations against them. Of course, they were the only community that counted. Those frabjous days led to the "development" (read denigration) of the Gold Coast via Sir Bruce Small and Keith Williams and the rest of 'em, the eventual overpopulation and underservicing of the area, and the resulting social decline that has led to bikies setting up HQs there.

Not that Campbell Newman is Joh Bjelke Petersen or Jarrod Bleijie Russ Hinze, they don't have the weight. But the separation of powers matters a great deal and it can't be allowed to break down cheaply.

[tonka79]

andy, you'd be pleased to hear that our government has introduced laws to allow the AG to over-rule the judiciary...

I should, for the sake of clarity, state that i was being sarcastic here

[icepick]

...shoe horn the state back to the darkest days of pre fitzgerald police state ...

Not dark. Back then we knew who to pay, and where our work came from ...

[steve shearer]

what if the majority are ill-informed pig ignorant fcuking idiots?

[alakaboo]

They'd probably do something mind numbingly stupid like let a mining company control the senate.

[swvic]

fong, the community expectations you talk of are essentially bullshit. It stems from media sensationalising those court rulings where it appears a convicted criminal has been treated leniently by a judge. Often, the judges comments are distorted, omitted and quoted out of context

A gullible public laps it up and the piss weak pollies start talking tough on crime. Pops up pretty often all over the country

To get the real picture, you would need to read all of what a judge has said

How many times you done that

[andy2476]

probably never , except for the last time he was sanctioned .

[Yuke Hunt]

What about those restraining orders ... is he required to read them or simply abide by the ruling.

Magistrates have a history of making poor decisions ... less repercussions at that level ... after all they're just glorified clarks of the courts. Further up the food chain is another story ... but interpreting law is not so straight forward ... tangled webs and precedents apply.

[still here]

Expecting a surge in membership of lycra clad cycling gangs , and the Morris Minor club ?

[tonka79]

This made my day.

Newman unrepentant after judge adjourns alleged bikie's bail application over judiciary comments

Go eat a bag of d!cks Newman.

[Grooter]

The problem is never usually the club as an entity in itself. The problems are more to do with some of the absolute pieces of shit that are members of them.

I've known both good members of bikie clubs who are decent people at heart and others that are downright cnuts that use the club as cover and intimidation to fcuk people over who are trying to make an honest living.

If anything the clubs should take this at the very least as a wake up call to weed out the turds within their ranks.

[Trev]

Exactly groot. Which brings it back on topic
How can we use these new laws too show kiwis we mean business and send them back to nz

Some bloke from across the ditch upset you Fong?

[Trev]

15 of them too b exact trev

[tonka79]

Fongss, apparently the Feds have signed up for this exercise as well so maybe talk to them?

[tonka79]

Great use of the new bikie laws.

Queensland police raid recreational Vietnam and Veterans Motorcycle Club under anti-bikie laws

Yeh, go raid those Vietnam vets.... good work police. Maybe, when you have time, you can go catch some actual criminals....

How about this quote:

In a statement Queensland Police said the raid was "part of a strategy to develop a rapport with legitimate members of the motorcycle riding community in the interest of effective policing".

Yep, raiding non-criminal gangs is 'part of a strategy to develop a rapport with legitimate members of the motorcycle riding community'.

[daryl]

Reckon they'll regret that raid at least. Alan Jones taking on Chopper Reed.