Gold Coast MPs flag tougher anti-bikie laws in wake of intelligence report on Mongrel Mob branching out south from Logan home turf
A Gold Coast MP warned “it’s heading back to the situation it was in 2012 where if you were connected to locksmiths, tattoos, massage or tow trucks there was every chance you were being extorted by bikies”.
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A GOLD Coast MP fears a return to bad old days of bikie brawls and widespread extortion if outlaw gangs run free.
Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek: “It’s heading back to 2012 where if you were connected to locksmiths, tattoos, massage or tow trucks there was every chance you were being extorted by bikies. We have to nip this in the bud.
“We cannot afford in the greatest economic crisis of the last 100 years to be having questions about safety for people who visit and live here.”
He raised the fears after a leaked police intelligence report unveiled in yesterday’s Bulletin, showed police have concerns about the Mongrel Mob branching out from its Logan heartland to operate covertly on the Coast. The intel report refers to the Hells Angels, detailing how gangs continue to meet in hotels despite clubhouses being shut down.
Mr Langbroek said he worried bikies were becoming increasingly brazen. The LNP wanted to push through “stronger” anti-bikie laws.
Police Minister Mark Ryan defended Queensland’s laws as the nation’s “toughest.”.
“That’s why police advise there are no bikie clubhouses in Queensland (and) patched gang members continues to decrease. And that’s why bikies can’t wear colours, and more are handing in their colours.”
Mr Langbroek said Labor “watered down” LNP laws brought in 2014: “Mark Ryan keeps saying they’re the toughest. They’re not because South Australia copied our laws and didn’t change theirs back.”
After the 2013 Broadbeach bikie brawl, the LNP introduced Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment laws with huge penalties for crimes by gang members.
Currumbin MP Laura Gerber also seized on revelations in the June bikie intel report.
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“The bikies are back and it’s scary. As a mum of two kids and a former prosecutor, I want to feel safe in our community and I don’t when these bikies are being let off the hook with soft laws,” she said.
“At the moment, only about 1500 warnings have been issued to bikies for consorting. That’s a warning – no prosecutions, no one’s been put in jail and that doesn’t make me feel very safe.
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“On top of that we have our rapid action police (Rapid Action Patrol) babysitting the border when they should be out there keeping the community safe and prosecuting these bikies. That’s where they want to be.”
Queensland Police previously backed the allocation of Rapid Action officers to the border and said their skills were suitable for the role.
Mr Ryan said police “continue to target gang members with several arrests in recent weeks”.
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