Shane Ross slaying: Gold Coast MP claims he heard gunshots the night bikie died

A Gold Coast MP has claimed he heard gunshots the night a bikie was murdered just a short distance away from his home.

BURLEIGH MP Michael Hart has recalled how he heard gunshots, unaware a bikie murder was being played out in his Gold Coast suburb.

In a speech in State Parliament, the LNP frontbencher said crime was out of control on the Coast, as police work to solve the murders of bikie Shane Ross and his mate Cameron Martin.

Martin, 47, died of a gunshot wound after his vehicle hit a tree of Tallebudgera Creek Road about 9pm on Friday.

Burleigh MP Michael Hart claims he heard the gunshots.

Gun casings suspected to be 9mm were found near Ross’s body at Martin Sheils Park, Burleigh Heads.

Mr Hart, who lives “close by in the hills above” had just returned home.

“On Friday night I was out at an event. I came home at about eight o’clock and sat on the

lounge with my wife to watch the news and catch up with daily events. Just after nine o’clock my wife muted our television and said, ‘Did you hear that? That was gunshots.’ A few minutes later we started to hear sirens,” he said.

Shane Ross

“Unfortunately, that noise that we heard was the ending of somebody’s life within close range to my house. Two men lost their lives that night — two men that we now find were members of the Comanchero bikie group.

“This government needs to take responsibility for changes that it made which softened the law around bikies. When the LNP put in place those laws — the VLAD laws — we drove the

bikies out of this state, yet now they are back with a vengeance.”

Ross and Martin died on Friday night. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Mr Hart said the “soft organised crime laws” introduced in 2016 by the Palaszczuk government had failed.

“There are 28 declared bikie gangs in Queensland and we are finding that these consorting laws just do not work. Villains gang member Harley Barbaro successfully challenged Labor’s consorting notice legislation in the Southport Magistrates Court in March of this

year,” he said.

“Not one consorting notice has been issued ever since. This means that bikies can consort

whenever they like and, apparently over the weekend on Friday night, they were consorting in my electorate and I do not want them there.

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Police investigating the crime scene at Martin Sheils Park. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

“Under this government, the spending on our police force is down and crime is up. In fact, assaults on the Gold Coast are up 117 per cent, shop stealing is up 87 per cent, robbery has increased by 68 per cent, unlawful use of a motor vehicle is up 52 per cent and on the weekend murder was up by at least two people.”

Mr Hart told the Bulletin he continued to be concerned about police resourcing in his electorate.

“The community is in shock. The crime is just escalating out of control. At one stage we were down five police officers in Palm Beach who were transferred to Coomera,” he said.

Originally published as Shane Ross slaying: Gold Coast MP claims he heard gunshots the night bikie died