Attorney-General Simon Corbell has quite rightly determined that more work needs to be done to strike a balance between those advocating for the laws and human rights campaigners.

But it is hard to see how a compromise will ever be found when both sides of the debate continue to staunchly defend their positions.

ACT's top cop, Rudi Lammers, made the legislation a priority when he announced his retirement in June and has rejected what he says are flawed arguments that the rules would impinge human rights.

He has said the recent emergence of a Nomads chapter in the territory and persistent concerns the capital had become a haven for outlaw motorcycle gangs showed a strong need for the laws.

The Human Rights Commission has warned that anti-consorting laws give police unacceptably broad powers and represent a "profoundly retrogressive step for the ACT".

The ACT would become the last mainland jurisdiction on the east coast to introduce such measures, but there is already evidence of problems with other schemes that need to be taken into consideration.

The release this week of a damning Ombudsman's report on similar laws in NSW cast further doubt over the effectiveness of anti-consorting legislation.

ACT Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson has criticised the backdown and promised the Liberals would present their own anti-consorting legislation if they win the election.

The positions of the police and human rights advocates are unlikely to change even if the government does.

These proposed laws will continue to be controversial as they lie in the grey area between human rights and freedom of movement, and the right of the community to feel safe.

The ACT prides itself as a place with a strong human rights ethic and any measures to impinge on people's freedom of movement or association need to be carefully considered.

But conversely, to err on the side of caution in this matter might not be in the territory's best interests either.