AUSTRAILA - Media not allowed at Finks hearing review

OFF THE WIRE
MEDIA has again been excluded from hearing any discussion about an impending court case where the police are seeking to have the Finks bikie club's Gold Coast chapter declared a criminal organisation.
Justice David Boddice said relevant legislation for a closed court applied only to the hearing itself but after agreement from counsel representing police and the outlaw motorcycle gxxg, he excluded anyone not directly involved in the case.
He said he presumed there would be matters canvassed during Wednesday's hearing review that related to the actual hearing.
Police have alleged a world of nightclubs, drug trafficking, weapons, extortion, violence and rape over two decades in documents it tendered to the court in support of its application.
Thousands of pages, filling two boxes, detail men allegedly seen sporting Finks colours - including slogans, 1% symbols, Bung cartoon character from the Wizard of Id or tattoos such as "Terror Team" - across Queensland's south-east.
Every time police spotted alleged Gold Coast Finks members visiting Warwick, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay or Bundaberg, dating back to the 1990s, they recorded it.
The documents talk of men using children's etch-a-sketch magic drawing boards or whiteboards to communicate with each other so police bugs in their homes could not detect their illegal activities.
Covert officers detail sitting around watching Sopranos with the outlaw motorcycle gxxg members where tales of rape and violence unfold on a regular basis.
Transcripts from bugged houses reveal conversations about using household paint and gap filler to fix bullet holes in cars.
If successful, Finks members would be prevented from associating with each other.
http://www.frasercoastchronicle.com.au/news/media-not-allowed-finks-hearing-review/1860036/