Who is Greens senator Lidia Thorpe’s Rebels bikie ex Dean Martin

Dean Martin has been associated with the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang for more than 25 years but never made a headline until he dated a Greens senator.

Dean Martin has been associated with the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang for more than 25 years until 2018 when he handed over his leadership of the Victorian chapter.

But he had rarely made the headlines in that time until today when it was revealed he had been in a relationship with Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe at the time she sat on the joint parliamentary law enforcement committee.

Rebels bikie member Dean Martin Picture: Nine News

Mr Martin is the brother of exiled former Rebel bikie Shane Martin and uncle to star AFL Richmond footballer Dustin.

It was a high profile decision in 2016 to deport Shane Martin to his native New Zealand and deny him a visa to return to Australia despite claiming his family’s Aboriginality. Shane was later charged in New Zealand with criminal offences but died of natural causes last December.

Dean Martin said the deportation had been tearing the family apart and described the decision as appalling and said he feared he could never visit him or face a similar deportation fate.

Instead, he led a rally outside Melbourne parliament to protest the Federal Government’s “501 law” – the amendment of the Migration Act that increased the Australian Government’s ability to deport foreign born criminals.

Shane Martin, a former Rebels motorcycle club president, was deported from Australia last March under a section of the Migration Act, for associating with criminal enterprise. He had lived in Australia since he was aged 20. Picture: Supplied

Dustin has no affiliations with the Rebels and had also been a vocal critic of his dad’s deportation.

Mr Martin, said to have maintained some associations with Rebels members, had in recent times been more focused on pursuing issues related to Indigenous Australians rights.

It was in this passion he met Lidia Thorpe.

Mr Martin has not had any criminal charges against him although in 2013 had faced court on operating the Rebels club house and selling liquor without a licence and was placed on a good behaviour bond.

He had already been in the sights of law enforcement in Melbourne for years because of his bikie affiliations and leadership. In 2018 police turned up the heat with intelligence a simmering feud with the rival Comanchero gang had reached boiling point and violence was expected.

At the Bringelly Clubhouse at Hoxton Park in Sydney was Shane Martin prior to his deportation. Picture: Adam Taylor

On a national gathering of Rebels in that year, Mr Martin said the public had nothing to fear.

“I don’t know what the big scene is, we’re just normal people,” he told media.

“We’re no different than anyone else, everyone thinks were all about crime – we’re not about crime. People always point the finger at us. We’re just a bunch of blokes who ride our bikes and have a good time.”

The latest Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s (ACIC) there were 38 OMCGs with 475 chapters in Australia made up of 4718 patched members, 951 prospects (a voted probationary or nominee members) and 4585 associates. At one stage the Rebels accounted for half the national total and NSW had the largest membership base of all gangs notably Comanchero.