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Bikie Laws: Katter MP compares bikie logos to burqas

30th August 2016 8:36 AM
UPDATED 11:50 AM
Outlaw motorcycle gang colours and logos would be outlawed under the proposed changes. Chris McCormack

QUEENSLAND MP Robbie Katter has compared the wearing of bikie "colours" and logos to burqas as he asks whether new anti-crime measures from the Labor Government go too far.

News Limited is reporting that bikies may be banned from festivals that risk igniting brawls with rivals.

They would also be stopped from fortifying doors in an effort to prevent police entry.

 

The new laws, if passed, would allow authorities to confiscate clothing or merchandise in public areas and make arrests, according to the Courier-Mail.

The penalties may also include jail time.

Katter's Australian Party MP Robbie Katter said he was concerned about the "outlawing of patches in all areas".

The Mt Isa politician warned that forcing gang associates out of their gang colours could make them harder to identify.

 

"Where do you stop? Are you going to become the fashion police?" he told the Courier-Mail.

"Are we going to ban the burqa? I do worry where some of this could lead."

On Sunday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the use of colours and logos by motorcycle gangs were used in "brazen, menacing rides through our streets and cities".

"Under Campbell Newman's laws, gang colours were still permitted on our streets," she said.

"Under my laws, they won't be."

"The gangs can expect no let-up from police and prosecutors. I want more convictions not less, something we haven't seen under the LNP laws."

The Labor Government ordered a review into the so-called VLAD or Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment laws when it took power.

Opponents have warned the government not to take a lighter touch to outlaw motorcycle gangs, even if the laws themselves were often criticised for ensnaring innocent motorbike riders.

Attorney-General Yvette D'ath said that would not be the case with these new additions.

She said they will target outlaw motorcycle gangs, "without impacting legitimate, law-abiding motorcycle riders and clubs".

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