OFF THE WIRE
CHANGES designed to abolish the "cone of silence" that has hindered police in
their war on outlaw bikie (*club*) have struck a political road-block in
NSW.
A push by the NSW Coalition government to wind back the right of
alleged offenders to refuse to speak to police now appears doomed in the state
upper house, where the government does not have a majority.
The laws
could founder on the opposition of the minority Shooters & Fishers Party,
which has joined with the Greens and Labor to block the proposed new limits on
the right to silence.
Under the changes, judges and juries could draw a
"negative inference" if a defendant used in court evidence he or she had
withheld from police when questioned in the presence of a lawyer.
NSW
Opposition Leader John Robertson said: "Abolishing the right to silence would
contradict the most basic legal principle of innocence until proven
guilty.
"This is bad policy that should have never been introduced in the
first place."
Upper house Greens MP David Shoebridge said solicitors
would simply refuse to attend their clients' interviews with police to prevent
the triggering of the "negative inference" provisions.
A spokesman for
the Shooters said the laws "won't crack down on criminals -- it will crack down
on everyone in the state".
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/bikie-laws-hit-road-block/story-fn59niix-1226600989653
