While draft laws aimed at outlaw motorcycle gangs introduced into the ACT Legislative Assembly on Tuesday are a welcome step in the right direction, the question that needs to be asked is "are they tough enough?"
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The laws would give ACT police, whose investigations into drive-by shootings and fire bombings linked to conflict between outlaw bikie groups have been hampered by a lack of co-operation from the victims in the past, additional powers.
The most notable is the ability to declare a private property a crime scene for up to six hours without a warrant in the event the occupants refuse to co-operate with police. Another is to make it a crime to shoot at a building, even if it is empty.
The proposed laws have been drafted in response to widespread criticism of the ACT's anti-bikie laws in the wake of an influx of outlaw bikie gangs into the territory.
Matters came to a head when police were unable to secure convictions against two bikies accused of firing bullets at the home of a rival gang member. The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence. The alleged victim did not appear at the trial.
Canberra is one of the few Australian jurisdictions that does not have anti-consorting laws.
It is considered by some to be an open city in which all gangs are free to operate. It is regarded by NSW police as a safe haven for individuals targeted by that state's robust anti-outlaw bikie gang laws.
Conflicts between warring gangs have spilt over onto Canberra's streets with shots fired, people injured and cars fire bombed in at least eight separate incidents since the beginning of the year.
While ACT Attorney General Gordon Ramsay believes the proposed laws are more than sufficient to "disrupt" bikie activity, others disagree.
Canberra's Liberals have accused the government of "tinkering around the edges", saying Labor and the Greens are protecting criminals by not introducing legislation similar to that in force in NSW.
Liberals legal affairs spokesman Jeremy Hanson said unless this was done attacks would continue to escalate in frequency and violence with tragedy, possibly involving innocents caught in the cross fire, almost inevitable.
He is expected to introduce his party's anti-consorting laws into the ACT parliament this week.
The Liberal bill has already been tweaked in response to criticisms it is in breach of local human rights legislation. There are also dissenting voices who argue these laws have been tried and failed elsewhere.
Mr Hanson and his colleagues want the Chief Police Officer to be able to apply to the Supreme Court to have "certain organisations" branded as criminal and to nominate individual members for a register of people banned from associating with each other.
They say the right of innocent bystanders to be protected from harm trumps the human rights of violent criminals, standover merchants and drug traffickers who want to conduct turf wars on the city's streets.
There are many in the community who would agree with this position.
