AUSTRALIA - Mackay tattoo artist says ink register would be a "joke"

OFF THE WIRE
IT would be a "dead set joke" if tattooed Queenslanders had to register their ink with the State Government, says a Mackay tattoo artist.
The Gold Coast's Mermaid Beach MP Ray Stevens has suggested the State Government have a register of people getting tattoos to crack down on bikie gang money laundering operations.
He said a register would stop bikie gangs using fake names to launder money though tattoo parlours they operated.
However, North Mackay's Maiden Ink Tattoos owner and manager Kelly Aplin said a register would be an invasion of privacy, and not every tattoo studio was bikie related.
Instead, she said authorities should concentrate on backyard tattooists who were spreading infections.
"They're spreading Hepatitis C, buying machines on eBay and they don't know how to clean or sterilise them," she said.
Tattoo studio operators were at risk of catching a disease from an infected client, she said.
There were a lot of backyard artists in Mackay, Ms Aplin said, and she called for authorities to start cracking down on the issue.
As the art of tattooing becomes more widespread, more men and women are signing up to be inked on their arms, rib cages, chests and hands.
Ms Aplin said it was also becoming more popular for people to start a collection of art on their bodies, and to have work from different artists.
Larger work is also becoming more popular. Ms Aplin said Japanese-themed work was proving to be a hit, including dragons, warriors and geisha girls. Zombie girls with roses are also popular large pieces of art.
"It's more the big stuff and we still get the odd small ones," she said.
http://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/mp-calls-for-queensland-tattoo-register/1858950/