The likelihood of consorting and anti-association laws being enacted in the ACT firmed considerably on Thursday. A discussion paper was issued by the Justice and Community Safety Directorate to "inform public consultation on the "potential introduction" of such laws. However, the inclusion of a proposed model – "drafted to insure that any limitation on the rights [of vulnerable groups] is reasonable and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society" – points strongly towards anti-consorting laws being included on the statute books, possible within the year.
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Despite the tireless and insistent advocacy of Chief Police Officer Rudi Lammers, the Canberra Liberals, the Australian Federal Police Association and sundry other "tough on crime" advocates, the necessity for anti-consorting laws in the ACT has not been conclusively proven, however. Indeed, while the discussion paper appears to endorse the need for legislation, it also suggests it may be of limited efficacy in targeting and disrupting serious and organised crime in the Territory – or used for purposes for which it was not designed.
Consorting laws have a long history in common-law countries like England and Australia, being mostly employed by police to preempt potential low-level criminality, or to run rogues, vagrants, and other undesirable elements out of town. In more modern times, they've fallen into disuse. Only in recent years have they come to be regarded by law enforcement authorities as a useful tool for fighting organised crime – and particularly that part of the organised crime scene involving outlaw motorcycle gangs. As a result most states and territories have reintroduced or amended consorting laws to deal specifically with OMCGs.
Organised crime in Australia runs to many different forms, with OMCGs being but one element of that. Whether bikie gangs as a whole are Australia's No 1 organised criminals remains a matter of conjecture. They are, however, a conspicuous aspect of the underworld, being distinctive in appearance and with a penchant for settling internecine disputes without regard for public safety. This, naturally, makes them a magnet for police attention.
As a result of beefed up anti-consorting laws in NSW, many Sydney-based bikies are alleged to have sought refuge in the ACT. Canberra, once the sole domain of the Rebels, now hosts chapters of the Nomads and Comancheros. Whether this is evidence of an influx of new bikies lured here by the Territory's "soft" laws remains unclear. Last month, for example, an ACT Policing spokeswoman said there was no suggestion that bikie numbers were rising; rather that existing gangs were splintering.
It's undeniable there has been a string of bikie-related incidents over recent months. However, no innocent bystanders have been caught up, and in most cases the police and prosecutors have dealt firmly and effectively with the offenders. A crime wave imperilling public safety it is not.
Existing police powers are perfectly adequate to cope with bikie-related crime and the Barr government should resist calls for it to enact consorting laws.
