A Canberra bikie serving nearly nine years' jail for violent crimes in the territory argued his transfer to NSW would breach his human rights in an unsuccessful bid to stay in the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
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Instead, Alex Bourne, 31, will be transferred on Wednesday to Queanbeyan and later to the notorious Goulburn Supermax prison to face outstanding charges in the neighbouring state.
Bourne, a Comanchero, is only a short way into a hefty prison term, which was imposed last year after he pleaded guilty to blackmail, trafficking drugs and intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Among other acts, Bourne ordered a drug dealer to place his hand on concrete before smashing it with a sledgehammer.
Justice Michael Elkaim jailed him for eight years and eight months, with a lengthy non-parole term of six years and three months, due to expire in March 2023.
Last year the NSW attorney-general asked the ACT if it could transfer Bourne to NSW so he could face outstanding criminal charges in that jurisdiction.
The ACT attorney-general was happy to do so and applied in the ACT Magistrates Court for the order.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker agreed and ordered the AMC release Bourne into the custody of a NSW detective to take him to the Queanbeyan police station.
In June 2017, the local Queanbeyan court had issued an arrest warrant for Bourne alleging he had committed robbery in company, demand property in company with intent to steal and steal motor vehicle.
In challenging the magistrate's decision, Bourne argued that the interests of justice do not favour his transfer to NSW, that it would defeat the rights he has under the ACT's human rights laws, that his entitlement to be visited by his family would be restricted and his rehabilitation and employment within the AMC would be interrupted.
He said those considerations outweighed the public interest in having the NSW charges proceed. He also said the transfer would be harsh and oppressive.
In refusing the challenge, Justice Michael Elkaim said it was fair to say there is no practical alternative to the transfer. The court heard that the charges could not proceed while Bourne remained in custody in the ACT.
He also said while Bourne had argued that if he were transferred to NSW he would be deprived of the protection from the human rights act, that was based on flawed reasoning.
"The fact that there is no equivalent act in NSW does not mean that the plaintiff will not be 'treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person'," he said.
"There is no evidence before me that suggested that the treatment [Bourne] will receive in a NSW prison will be any different to that he receives in the ACT."
A NSW detective was present in court for the decision and it's understood Bourne was to be taken to Queanbeyan immediately.
