A LEGAL challenge brought by two Sydney bikies and a young man
jailed under the NSW consorting laws will be heard in the Australian
High Court in Canberra tomorrow.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has been attacked for
lodging an application to join the bikies in their argument to have the
legislation scrapped.Police around the country say consorting laws are vital in their fight against outlaw motorcycle gangs and a loss will be considered a major set back.
NOMADS BIKES JOIN WITH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
HUMAN RIGHTS? TIME TO GET ON YOUR BIKE, BOYS!
“This is a powerful tool in our fight against them here and around Australia,’’ a senior NSW police officer said.
Nomads boss Simon Tajjour was the first person arrested under the new laws with another bikie Justin Hawthorne.
Charlie Foster, an intellectually disabled 21-year-old, was jailed for consorting with petty criminals in the NSW town of Inverell. His case was later overturned.
“They say it is to get organised criminals and gangs but what has Charlie Foster got to do with that? “ Mr Tajjour, the national president of the Nomads, said.
“If you are a convicted offender of a minor offence you are considered a criminal and you could be warned for consorting and charged whether you are a bikie or not.
“The fight is not about me or gangs. It’s about everyone’s rights.”
The legislation was brought in by the NSW government in 2013 to stop “criminals habitually consorting’’ with each other. It was aimed directly at bikie gangs after a series of drive-by shootings in southwest Sydney.
Human rights commissioner Tim Wilson has refused to comment, saying the matter is before the courts.