Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop
abc.net.au
Australia - An unlikely court battle is looming, with
Australia's toughest anti-association laws facing a constitutional challenge
from a Sydney bikie gang and a disability pensioner.
Two Nomads bikies have lodged a challenge in the Supreme Court this week
against the New South Wales consorting laws, which outlaw repeated communication
with convicted criminals.
Lawyers for senior bikie Sleiman Tajjour and fellow gang member Justin Hawthorne say the push for the laws to be declared invalid could reach the High Court.
The pair are among four Nomads bikies fighting consorting charges.
The first person convicted under the legislation, disability pensioner Charlie Foster, is planning to join the challenge.
The 21-year-old was jailed for up to a year in July for consorting with three friends and housemates in the northern New South Wales town of Inverell.
But the District Court set aside his conviction in August because police had not proven the charge was legal.
Police will try to have Foster convicted of the offence again if the constitutional challenge fails.
The consorting offence carries a jail term of up to three years for anyone who communicates at least four times with convicted criminals.
The laws were first introduced in the 1920s to tackle Sydney's razor gangs but were later scaled back because of concerns police were abusing their powers.
The New South Wales Parliament revived them this year in response to a wave of gun violence involving bikies and organised crime groups, but police say the legislation was never just intended for gang members.
The Opposition backed the laws with reservations but is now calling for the legislation to be redrafted, saying it was rushed through Parliament.
More than 100 people have been warned under the legislation and one person has been successfully convicted.
John Thomas Charles O'Brien was handed a 12-month good-behaviour bond in Sydney's Manly Local Court earlier this month, after pleading guilty to consorting.
Lawyers for senior bikie Sleiman Tajjour and fellow gang member Justin Hawthorne say the push for the laws to be declared invalid could reach the High Court.
The pair are among four Nomads bikies fighting consorting charges.
The first person convicted under the legislation, disability pensioner Charlie Foster, is planning to join the challenge.
The 21-year-old was jailed for up to a year in July for consorting with three friends and housemates in the northern New South Wales town of Inverell.
But the District Court set aside his conviction in August because police had not proven the charge was legal.
Police will try to have Foster convicted of the offence again if the constitutional challenge fails.
The consorting offence carries a jail term of up to three years for anyone who communicates at least four times with convicted criminals.
The laws were first introduced in the 1920s to tackle Sydney's razor gangs but were later scaled back because of concerns police were abusing their powers.
The New South Wales Parliament revived them this year in response to a wave of gun violence involving bikies and organised crime groups, but police say the legislation was never just intended for gang members.
The Opposition backed the laws with reservations but is now calling for the legislation to be redrafted, saying it was rushed through Parliament.
More than 100 people have been warned under the legislation and one person has been successfully convicted.
John Thomas Charles O'Brien was handed a 12-month good-behaviour bond in Sydney's Manly Local Court earlier this month, after pleading guilty to consorting.