canberratimes.com.au
IF EVER there was any doubt that outlaw motorcycle gangs are becoming more sophisticated and organised in their illegal activities, today's revelations of links to an Australian Federal Police officer with top secret clearance should come as an alarming wake-up call.
While police investigators could not prove secret police intelligence was passed on, the officer's access to more than 4000 files, including some relating to bikie gangs, suggests a worrying possibility that some of their efforts to crack down on these groups may have been compromised.
The involvement of these gangs in organised crime is well documented, in particular in the drug trade. The shocking bashing and stabbing attack of Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas in front of dozens of witnesses at Sydney Airport in 2009 demonstrated the callous disregard these gangs have for the rule of law.
Yet more than a decade of tough rhetoric by politicians around the country has failed to curb the drugs, guns, attacks and turf wars that surround these gangs.
In nine days' time when the South Australian Parliament resumes, the latest moves will begin to tighten laws in that state after the recent shooting on an Adelaide street that injured a self-declared gang leader and killed his son.
West Australian legislators will also this month debate banning bikie gang members from associating with each other after a member of the Finks motorcycle gang allegedly terrorised a couple in their home in January.
But to be truly effective, moves to deal with illegal bikie activity need to be national, not state-based. While often based in one state, bikie gangs are an international phenomenon and are no longer a local problem - they are a national concern that needs to be tackled at the national level.
Members of motorbike clubs are just as entitled to their civil liberties and presumption of innocence as any other member of the community. Not all clubs are involved in unsavoury behaviour. But where a particular gang has a proven record of involvement in illegal activity, it is not unreasonable that those associated with it should have their activities closely scrutinised - much the same as a person involved with a known drugs cartel might be.
There is widespread unease in the community about these gangs and what goes on behind the walls of their heavily fortified compounds. Efforts to combat their influence must be uniform, consistent and universally supported if they are to be effective and limit the cross-border flow of weapons, drugs and misery.
While police investigators could not prove secret police intelligence was passed on, the officer's access to more than 4000 files, including some relating to bikie gangs, suggests a worrying possibility that some of their efforts to crack down on these groups may have been compromised.
The involvement of these gangs in organised crime is well documented, in particular in the drug trade. The shocking bashing and stabbing attack of Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas in front of dozens of witnesses at Sydney Airport in 2009 demonstrated the callous disregard these gangs have for the rule of law.
Yet more than a decade of tough rhetoric by politicians around the country has failed to curb the drugs, guns, attacks and turf wars that surround these gangs.
In nine days' time when the South Australian Parliament resumes, the latest moves will begin to tighten laws in that state after the recent shooting on an Adelaide street that injured a self-declared gang leader and killed his son.
West Australian legislators will also this month debate banning bikie gang members from associating with each other after a member of the Finks motorcycle gang allegedly terrorised a couple in their home in January.
But to be truly effective, moves to deal with illegal bikie activity need to be national, not state-based. While often based in one state, bikie gangs are an international phenomenon and are no longer a local problem - they are a national concern that needs to be tackled at the national level.
Members of motorbike clubs are just as entitled to their civil liberties and presumption of innocence as any other member of the community. Not all clubs are involved in unsavoury behaviour. But where a particular gang has a proven record of involvement in illegal activity, it is not unreasonable that those associated with it should have their activities closely scrutinised - much the same as a person involved with a known drugs cartel might be.
There is widespread unease in the community about these gangs and what goes on behind the walls of their heavily fortified compounds. Efforts to combat their influence must be uniform, consistent and universally supported if they are to be effective and limit the cross-border flow of weapons, drugs and misery.
