The insider claimed the ACT was on the brink of returning to a one-club town and a possible territory-wide legal crackdown on outlaw motorcycle groups was a police "power grab" based on incorrect facts.

He said it was also the result of "propaganda" spouted to boost the coffers of ACT Policing's anti-bikie Taskforce Nemesis.

A NSW report, tabled in parliament last week, has shown interstate anti-gang laws targeting bikies have had little effect and should be scrapped.

Taskforce Nemesis last year received a $6 million funding injection and gained eight extra cops - despite police maintaining bikie numbers remain steady - to help curb illegal activity from clubs known to have a strong presence in the territory - the Rebels, Nomads and Comanchero.

The ranks of the Rebels, who were Canberra's sole bikie gang for decades, have been eroded in recent years as small groups patched over to set up local chapters of the Comanchero and Nomads, sparking rising tensions among bikers.

Anti-bikie gang police have probed recent incidents including a shooting and car fire at an Isabella Plains house, a fire at the Comanchero former clubhouse in Fyshwick and an arson attack at a Tuggeranong tattoo parlour.

The ACT's porous borders and absence of anti-consorting laws, which exist in all other states and territories to disrupt bikie gang members meeting or speaking, have long sparked concerns it would become an oasis for outlaw motorcycle group activity.

But the ACT government dumped in July its proposal to prevent bikies consorting as it continued to struggle to draft laws that struck a balance between satisfying police and respecting human rights.

Police minister Mick Gentleman this month said he was instead talking to police about pursuing anti-fortification laws as an alternative to anti-consorting legislation.

The controversial laws would allow police to gather intelligence to apply for court orders to tear down walls, fences and other defences at bikie clubhouses.

That suggestion was met with backlash from one senior stalwart of Canberra's bikie scene, who told Fairfax Media the laws would be a waste of time given all the ACT's existing clubhouses had been shut down.

It is understood the Rebels previously had clubhouses in Wanniassa, Fyshwick, Mitchell, and Giralang.

"There are no clubhouses in Canberra to even fortify," he said.

He said the push for anti-bikie laws was propaganda and a police power grab based on poor intelligence.

"Police jump on this bandwagon to get more in their budget.

"It just instils fear into the public who then think that every bike in the ACT is an outlaw biker that have move to town."

He said any moves towards anti-consorting laws wouldn't affect him, as he didn't have a criminal record, but would impact "everyday Joe Blow Canberrans".

He also said continued talk of the ACT being a bikie free zone could invite interstate gangs to mount an incursion.

"The problem is the police look like fools because they're waving a flag and saying to other clubs: 'Come on in'.

"Every story that is written saying Canberra is a free zone for bikies is shared online, so other clubs read that and it sows a seed in their minds.

"They're just inviting everyone in. How stupid."

Civil Liberties Australia vice president Tim Vines, a vocal opponent of anti-consorting laws, said his biggest concerns with fortification laws revolved around the process used to determined a property was being used by bikies and for unlawful activity.

He said police would typically prepare an intelligence brief on an individual or group before that information was used to obtain an order from a magistrate, usually in a closed court hearing, for the fortifications to be removed.

"All of that can be done without the individual, or individuals, knowledge and without them having an opportunity to challenge that evidence in court."

The ACT Law Society has yet to see details of any proposed anti-fortification laws but has previously raised doubts about anti-consorting legislation for the territory.

An ACT Policing spokeswoman said police remained vigilant to attempts by other groups to establish a presence in the ACT and would use "legislative means" to attempt to prevent that from occurring.

"ACT Policing will look to progress with the ACT government a range of legislative reforms to enhance our ability to respond to the threats OMCG pose to the ACT."

"Our message to outlaw motorcycle gang members is your presence and illegal activities are not welcome in Canberra."

BACKGROUND

Canberra is no longer a Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Club stronghold after another mass resignation of members last year.

Up to 20 Rebels - including a number of senior bearers - handed back their colours late last year, only months after the southside chapter defected to the Nomads.

The exodus continues the fragmentation of the Canberra bikie landscape which started in 2014 when a small group of former Rebels formed a Comanchero ACT chapter.

While the recently resigned members have not patched over to a rival club, it is unknown how many continue to operate as a group or if some merely took the opportunity to walk away from outlaw life.

The exodus means the number of patched bikies operating in the capital has dropped significantly and there is even conjecture about the number of clubs with a presence worth acknowledging.

A senior stalwart of Canberra's bikie scene disputed the number of gangs now operating in Canberra.

"There's now one-and-a-quarter. We are almost back to a one club town again," he said.

"The Rebels are gone. We all left. The south went Nomads, and any remaining Rebels have been told to go to Yass. The Comanchero are hanging by a thread.

"The numbers reported by police are wrong. There isn't 50 outlaw club members in Canberra, it's probably 20-plus."

Police said the precise number of OMCG members vary, but estimated there to be about 48 members across the territory.

But some insiders estimate the numbers could now be as low as in the 20s, while others put the number as close to 40.

It is unknown if these figures include club associates, nominees, or only fully patched members.

Nationally, the once mighty Rebels' strength has been sapped by internal power struggles after long reigning national president Alex Vella's visa was cancelled while holidaying in Malta in 2014.

The Rebels - once Australia's largest outlaw club - local supremacy had ensured the capital remained a one club town for decades.

At its peak, the Rebels had more than 50 patched members and as many as six chapters in the Canberra region.

But insiders say the club no longer has any clubhouses in the area and it is understood any remaining Rebels have been told to operate from Yass.

Some estimates put the number of Rebels left in the territory as high as 15 to 20.

It is unknown if these bikers operate as a chapter or are remnants of the once powerful gang left scattered across the territory.

The mass exit means the new Nomads chapter - with up to 15 members - are now likely the largest cohesive outlaw club in Canberra.

The Comanchero (about five members) and Finks (two members) are also said maintain a presence.