Australasian biker news

AN unlikely coalition of motorcycle gangs, lawyers and politicians have joined to condemn a move by the South Australian Government to sever links between bikie gangs and the security industry.

Under a bill now before state parliament, the police would be able to revoke or reject crowd-controller licences based on the applicants' associates.

Opponents of the Rann Government's proposed laws, which would be Australia's toughest on crowd controllers, claim they give police too much power and deny citizens their civil rights.

"We should save these sorts of legal actions for fighting international terrorists, not bikie gangs," said Peter Hoban, who is assessing the legislation for the Law Society of South Australia.

Police would have "unbridled control", according to Democrats spokesman Ian Gilfillan, who opposes the bill, which includes provisions for random police testing for drugs and alcohol.

The state Liberal Opposition has called elements of the bill "draconian", but says it follows the precedent set by the federal Government's firearms legislation, under which police can refuse a firearms licence without divulging the reasons.

Steve Williams is a Gypsy Joker bikie who opposes the bill. Under the proposed laws, sharing a beer with the recently retired president of the motorcycle gang could cost anyone in Adelaide's security industry their licence and livelihood.

Mr Williams describes himself as a "mediator" in the city's security industry, which the Rann Government claims is dominated by staff who are controlled by bikie gangs.

He said bouncers needed to know who was who at tough "heavy drinking" hotels or they could put themselves and patrons in jeopardy.

"If a young lad just out of training was here, everyone would be at risk," said Mr Williams as he sat by the bar at BJ's, a pub in Adelaide's Whitmore Square.

"Here, they have to keep out the indigenous folk ... steer around the troublemakers, and it's part of their job to know who the regulars are, and who not to let in when somebody else is inside."

Premier Mike Rann has defended the proposed laws, saying that "anybody who is above-board has nothing to worry about".

He was worried that those in the security industry who had their licences removed or rejected based on secret police intelligence would not be told the reasons why.

Mr Williams admitted gang members had been recruited from crowd-controller ranks. But asked if the Government's claims about gang involvement in the security industry were correct, he said: "To tell the truth there are that many companies around, and that many changes, I could not tell you who's involved in what. The police slowly want to take over and make it so hard to own a security firm and a licence that you just about have to be an ex-copper."

Others in the security business without bikie connections have said the bill would push up to a third of the state's 6000 crowd controllers out of the industry.

And Monash university academic Arthur Veno, who has studied Australian bikie gangs, claimed Adelaide's security industry was now "squeaky clean".