OFF THE WIRE
The thought that large and intentionally intimidating men are marauding around laneways in central Ballarat is probably not the image of Ballarat nightlife that the businesses or residents of the city want for their city as it comes of age.
The recent closure of several nightclubs has led to the aspiration by some developers that a city of 100,000 people is missing something and proposes adding a new level of sophistication to the CBD.
In concept most people would welcome a nocturnal ambience that takes Ballarat’s nightlife away from a melee of drunken violence and police frustration.
But one nighttime gathering in Doveton Street over the weekend doesn’t quite offer Ballarat that kind of promising direction.
This was a gathering that included, among others, members of the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Club.
However innocent their activities, there would be few residents in Ballarat who would object to the police keeping a close eye on them.
For this is a group, like many of its ilk, whose reputation precedes it. It is not a reputation that sits well with Ballarat – either now or in any aspirational future.
Outlaw motorcycle clubs aren’t of much good for residents and of little benefit to tourism or reputation. There are those who may fantasise they bring some romantic rebel spirit to sleepy and staid hamlets but the reality is far different.
This is not in any way to condemn the activities of those who enjoy riding motorbikes or associating in related clubs.
The kind of groups the police are keeping their eyes on are a long way from the weekend Harley fanatics who like to go cruising. The reality is outlaw motorcycle clubs brand themselves with a particular anti-social conceit and build a reputation on belligerence to the law.
A number of prominent events including the high-profile and deadly brawl in Sydney airport, the continued use of drugs and intimidation to supplement incomes and even incidents such as an alarming cache of weapons close to Ballarat, all understandably are of concern to the public.
Tough laws aimed at curtailing the worst excesses of bikie gangs have met with mixed success but that doesn’t mean their refinement should not be a major objective of the State Government.
Issues of human rights should not be ignored as their due consideration is likely to add to the eventual efficacy of those same laws.
No one would deny men and women the pleasure of riding their motorbikes or of associating around a mutual love but breaking the law is another matter and in that regard community safety must come first.
http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/outlaw-motorcycle-clubs-are-a-concern-for-the-public/2303150.aspx
