New laws banning bikies from ‘prescribed places’ passed in State Parliament

New bikie crackdown laws have passed in state parliament but those in their sights say the government is trying to sidestep a High Court ruling.

New laws cracking down on serious and organised crime have passed state parliament.

The new legislation, passed on Thursday, declares a list of properties as prescribed places – including the Cowirra-based properties known as Ponde about 100km east of Adelaide – and removes any requirement for the government to give notice before sites are declared in the future.

The move bans bikies from attending their River Murray stronghold.

Currently, a participant in a criminal organisation who enters or attempts to enter a prescribed place is committing an offence that is punishable by up to three years imprisonment. ‘Participants’ include officeholders, members and those seeking to be members of the criminal organisation.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

The legislation came in the wake of a recent High Court ruling that invalidated the former Liberal government’s regulations concerning the Cowirra-based properties.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the government had acted quickly to take the strongest possible action in response to the High Court decision.

“We are serious about our efforts to tackle organised crime and I’m pleased to see Members of Parliament respond with the urgency that was clearly needed to address this issue,” Mr Maher said.

“It will leave people in no doubt as to the status of these prescribed places, as well as the potential penalties faced by participants in criminal organisations seeking to enter those locations.”

Just after Mr Maher introduced the bill banning bikies from visiting their Ponde property in parliament last month, the lawyer for two senior Hells Angels bikies said the government had “abandoned” procedural fairness and failed to give his clients the chance to respond.

On August 2, the High Court unanimously allowed an appeal by Peter Stacy and Stephen Taylor, the directors of Disorganized Developments, the company that holds the lease over the property.

Mr Stacy and Mr Taylor’s lawyer, Jon Lister, told The Advertiser Mr Maher’s claims the government had not received “substantive submissions” was “incorrect”.

“Soon after the decision of the High Court was handed down, our clients were advised that the government was proposing to recommend that the Governor make a new regulation declaring the Ponde property to be a prescribed place, and invited submissions on why that should not be done,” Mr Lister said.

“In accordance with their right to procedural fairness, our clients sought from the Minister identification of the ultimate facts by reference to which such a regulation could be shown to have a purpose authorised by law.

“Instead of responding to our clients’ request, and without notice to us, the Attorney-General abandoned that process and instead announced that the government will seek to pass legislation in parliament, presumably to sidestep the procedural fairness that the High Court held our clients were entitled to.”

On Tuesday, the Law Society of South Australia took aim at the government for banning bikies from their Ponde property.