NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Draconian bikie laws bring backlash

NZ Herald
10 Jan, 2014 04:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Campbell Newman.

Campbell Newman.

Campbell Newman, the former army major who has become Queensland's most repressive Premier since the notorious years of the late Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, is rapidly racking up a powerful coalition of enemies.

Campbell's rhetoric and draconian anti-bikie laws have infuriated the state judiciary, the federal Human Rights Commission, civil libertarians, veterans' groups and recreational motorcyclists.

His laws, watched closely by other states equally keen to hammer outlaw motorcycle clubs, now face a High Court challenge that will invoke constitutional safeguards and international treaty obligations.

The court has upheld similar challenges against South Australian and New South Wales legislation. Critics claim the Queensland laws are even more repressive because their broad scope could also embrace a government's political opponents, protesters, and any other group it wanted to smother.

State Attorney-General and Justice Minister Jarrod Bleijie said that since their introduction last year more than 485 criminal gang members and their associates had been arrested on 1000 charges, including extortion, assault and drug offences.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Misinformation that our legislation will capture innocent people is unfounded," he said in an open letter in response to criticism on APN Australian Regional Media websites by online news editor John Parker.

"They target only criminal gang members and associates who are also involved in their criminal ways."

The laws are contained in three acts - the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Bill, the Tattoo Parlours Bill and the Criminal Law (Criminal Laws Disruption) Amendment Bill - and impose harsh penalties. They target members and associates of 26 outlaw clubs.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The laws grant extra powers to the state's Crime and Misconduct Commission, and include the mandatory addition of 15 years to normal penalties for crime committed as part of a gang activity - with a further 10 years for club officials - and reduced prison privileges and visiting rights.

Any group can be named a criminal organisation without the need to prove the allegation.

Association with other gang members in a public place attracts a mandatory six-month sentence, and extends to meetings in other states. People charged under the laws are held in solitary confinement until Queensland's Chief Magistrate can hear their case.

Convicted bikies will be held in a special bikies-only prison. Pubs and bars face heavy fines for serving anyone with "visible signs of membership" of banned outlaw clubs.

Discover more

World

2013 Australia's hottest year on record

03 Jan 04:21 AM
World

Aussies swelter in heatwave

04 Jan 04:30 PM
World

Heat pushing farmers beyond limit

09 Jan 04:30 PM
World

Dead bats rain from the sky

09 Jan 06:20 PM

The Government has also given itself the power to override judges.

It argues that the laws, rushed through Parliament after a mass brawl on the Gold Coast, are needed to clamp down on bikie gangs described by the CMC as "high-threat criminal networks" and by the Australian Crime Commission as major players in drug and firearms trafficking, serious fraud, money laundering, extortion, prostitution, property crime and corrupting officials.

But legal and human rights organisations reject the claims that innocent groups will not be targeted and say the laws could be used against anybody. The Vietnam and Veterans Motorcycle Club, which is not an outlaw gang, was recently raided, and other recreational riders say they have been stopped and "harassed" by police.

The Human Rights Commission warned that they breached international agreed freedoms - enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - and the rights of specific groups in Queensland.

The commission also criticised the way the laws were pushed through Parliament without any form of committee oversight or public consultation, which it said "carries with it serious human rights ramifications".

The laws also targeted people on the basis of whom they associated with, rather than for something they had done.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Tony Fitzgerald, whose inquiry into official corruption triggered the Bjelke-Petersen Government's downfall in the 1980s, joined critics in an opinion article in Brisbane's Courier Mail.

"Although free societies provide opportunities which criminals can exploit, in totalitarian states the worst criminals are commonly those in power." he said.

And Campbell alienated the state's judiciary and lawyers when he attacked judges for criticism of the laws and their alarm at his power to override the courts.

Claiming judges and magistrates lived in ivory towers, Newman said: "Queenslanders are sick of these people who get appointed into these jobs who then are totally unaccountable."

But the Queensland Law Society said the move meant arbitrary detention would be at the sole determination of the executive.

"These are ill-considered changes that would send Queensland back to its colonial roots when offenders were held in custody at the Governor's pleasure," the society said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Hemp bevs: US states crack down on cannabis drink craze

18 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
World

The name is Bot, James Bot: AI tools infiltrate spying

18 Jun 06:00 PM
WorldUpdated

Iran warns of new attack against Israel

18 Jun 05:28 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Hemp bevs: US states crack down on cannabis drink craze

Hemp bevs: US states crack down on cannabis drink craze

18 Jun 06:00 PM

States are banning intoxicating cannabis drinks due to rising popularity.

Premium
The name is Bot, James Bot: AI tools infiltrate spying

The name is Bot, James Bot: AI tools infiltrate spying

18 Jun 06:00 PM
Iran warns of new attack against Israel

Iran warns of new attack against Israel

18 Jun 05:28 PM
Premium
Who is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader?

Who is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader?

18 Jun 05:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP