Queensland Election 2015: Bikers confront LNP incumbent David Crisafulli at polling booth

TENSIONS were high at a Queensland polling booth when about a dozen bikers turned up to confront the LNP incumbent.

Members of the Freedom Riders Association Queensland converge on the polling booth. Picture: Zak Simmonds

THERE was tension at the Mundingburra State School polling booth when about a dozen bikers turned up to confront LNP incumbent David Crisafulli.

The bikers, some with Freedom Riders Queensland insignia, rode in to the school just after midday to express their anger over the Newman Government’s controversial anti-bikie laws.

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The group spoke to Mr Crisafulli for about 10 minutes, expressing their anger over the impact the laws had on bike raiders, rather than outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Members of the Freedom Riders Association Queensland converge on the polling booth. Picture: Zak Simmonds

One man said friends were hassled at a funeral in the Burdekin after a friend’s death.

Members of the group called out to voters to put the LNP last on their ballot papers.

Mark Webb, who was with the group but says he is not part of any group or club, said “everyone who rides a bike is not a criminal”.

The group rode off, without casting a single vote at the polling booth.

Mr Crisafulli maintained his composure, even shaking hands with several of the biker before they left.

Afterwards, Mr Crisafulli said the group had a democratic right to express their views.

Mundingburra MP David Crisafulli is confronted by members of the Freedom Riders Association Queensland while handing out how-to-vote cards at Mundingburra State School. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“The irony is the debate was about laws that supposedly curtail freedoms, a debate that occurred on a day which is all about freedom,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“One (of the group) said he felt victimised because he had tattoos and rode a bike.

“My father has a bigger bike. They say the laws stop them associating but they turn up as a group and give me their views.”

The group was not one of the prescribed outlaw motorcycle groups under the VLAD laws.

Meanwhile, small-scale exit polling suggests Mr Crisafulli will hang on to the seat of Mundingburra, albeit with a smaller margin.

It was neck-and-neck between the ALP and LNP, according to votes.

Voters gave a mixed bag of reasons for casting their vote, with ALP supporters citing jobs as a key factor.

One LNP supporter said the ALP “spends like drunken sailors”, while another believed they deserved another term after “fixing the mess left by the ALP.

Mundingburra MP David Crisafulli is confronted by members of the Freedom Riders Association Queensland while handing out how to vote cards at Mundingburra State School. David Crisafulli talks with Mark Webb. Picture: Zak Simmonds