The latest outbreak of outlaw motorcycle club-related violence in the suburbs of Canberra has shocked the city and demands a strong response from authorities.
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As matters stand Canberra is now viewed by some as a safe haven for these gun-wielding thugs who have fled across our border to avoid being persecuted elsewhere. Pity the terrified residents of Canberra suburbs listening to assault rifles being fired meters from their homes.
While nobody has yet died as a result of the rapidly escalating violence we have seen in recent weeks it appears possibly just a matter of time, should the situation continue.
The conflict between the Comanchero and Nomad gangs is spiralling out of control. Three houses have been shot up, one with a military-style assault rifle. Who can say we won't see a repeat of the 1984 Milperra Massacre on the streets of the national capital?
At the end of that shootout between the Comancheros and the Bandidos seven gang members and one civilian were left dead or dying on the asphalt.
In more recent times 13 shootings took place in Sydney in a fortnight in 2008 and, in early 2009, a brawl between Comancheros and Hells Angels at Sydney Airport saw one man literally beaten to death before hundreds of witnesses. The list goes on and on.
Canberra's sudden epidemic of bikie gang related violence should not come as a surprise to either the ACT Government or ACT Policing.
As long ago as 2012 the Australian Federal Policing Association was calling for hundreds more officers and tough national anti-consorting laws to deal with the menace.
When the Gillard Government, and its successors, failed to act on this many states, including Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia passed or strengthened their own anti-consorting laws. The ACT dropped its plans to follow suit in 2016 over human rights concerns.
That appears to have resulted in other states exporting their problem to Canberra, a jurisdiction opposition police spokesman, Jeremy Hanson, described on Tuesday as an "oasis" for outlaw motorcycle gangs.
That vulnerability was apparently compounded in 2016 when, according to media reports, outlaw bikie gangs began setting up shop in the ACT after a declaration Canberra was a "free for all" zone in which any outlaw bikie gang could operate.
A senior NSW police officer was quoted as saying in January "A lot of clubhouses have been closed down and bikies are no longer roaming in packs in NSW but it is frustrating that they can still operate freely in Canberra."
That has to change and change now - these are not the signals we want to send to lawless individuals. This is not a problem the Barr government can leave in the "too hard" basket any longer.
