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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-04-09 Daily Xml
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MOTORCYCLE GANGS

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (15:18): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for Police a question about police surveillance of the Gypsy Jokers.

Leave granted.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I have been contacted by several constituents who have expressed their outrage at the police intervention at the annual motorbike event, the Poker Run, held by the Gypsy Jokers on Saturday 29 March. My constituents, who include a member of a Christian motorcycle club and two others who are not members of any such club (that is, a bikie club), informed me that the contingent, which the Gawler Bunyip states included 95 motorcycles and 30 cars, gathered at Gawler and rode through the Barossa and up to Clare.

A majority of the participants in that contingent were not members of the Gypsy Jokers. They estimate that 50 police cars, each with two officers, attended, plus 20 police bikes, two police helicopters, two mobile alcohol and drug testing units and six STAR Group and six police surveillance four-wheel drive vehicles. The Gawler Bunyip reports that 150 police officers were involved.

Over the course of the run, the police photographed bike riders and also other members of the public. They set up a roadblock at which all riders had their licences, bikes and helmets inspected. Riders and passengers involved were also intensely questioned on their reason for being there and their association with club members.

The road block held up traffic for an hour, forcing a wedding party to take another route. Police cars and helicopters followed the bikie run for the remainder of the day. Two of the emails I received expressed concern at the irresponsible way a police helicopter hovered so close to the road on a blind corner, such that dust and debris were thrown into the face of riders by the downdraft and riders were pushed to the wrong side of the road.

The results of this massive display of police force were, according to the Gawler Bunyip, two people testing positive for drugs, three reports of drink driving, 11 defect notices and nine traffic infringement notices. My questions of the minister are:

1. Can he confirm that an operation of the magnitude I have described occurred on 29 March?

2. What was the nature of the threat to public safety that required this level of resources?

3. How many police officers are usually on duty on a Saturday in the combined Adelaide and Barossa areas, and were extra staff scheduled to allow this operation to occur? Was any overtime payable to the police officers who attended, and did this operation result in greater than usual delays in responding to calls from the public for police assistance on Saturday 29 March?

4. Can the minister list other instances where a police force of this size was deployed in the absence of a specific threat?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:21): The Hon. Sandra Kanck's concern for the civil liberties of outlaw motorcycle gangs is very touching indeed, and I am sure she will continue to be concerned in her remaining (thankfully) now less than two years in this place.

One of the things we actually discovered was a ministerial briefing paper that was provided to a person who I understand will be joining us in this parliament, a former Liberal police minister, Robert Brokenshire. He was given a briefing note on the Gypsy Jokers outlaw motorcycle gang national run. So, these things are not new. Let us not pretend that these motorcycle runs are somehow or other something that has just happened—we have lots of them.

Indeed, I can just imagine the shadow minister for police up there slamming the police, as he always does; he would be up there criticising them, no doubt. Are you going to join in this as well? Are you going to criticise the police for being out there enforcing the rules? Are you going to do it? No; he will not say anything now, but he is always quick to kick the police. He is always quick to join in.

The PRESIDENT: The honourable minister should not be baiting the opposition.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: These Gypsy Joker runs have been there for a time. The note was that a watching brief was maintained on the Gypsy Jokers' headquarters overnight, no further incidents occurred and the police operation was stood down, etc. It states:

One of the difficulties police encountered during the run—

this was the Gypsy Joker run—

back in 2001 was the lack of existing legislational penalties to limit or prevent such large number of outlaw motorcycle gang members participating in a national activity, nor the ability to break such a large intimidating group into smaller groups.

What we have seen in past runs is that these groups ignore traffic lights, to the risk of themselves and other members of the public. They go through red lights. They have total contempt. We have seen this happen for many years with these motorcycle runs.

If the police were not prepared we would have members opposite saying, 'We do not have enough police. Where are they? What are they doing? Crime is out of control.' We hear all this nonsense from members opposite. I think the opposition and minor parties in this state ought to make up their mind where they stand. Where do you stand? Are you going to protect the police? Are you going to defend the police or not, or are you going to attack them at every opportunity?

This is the sort of rubbish that we are getting. The Hon. Sandra Kanck and members opposite will have their say on the serious outlaw gang bill, which we will be debating fairly soon. If they want to say that bikies do not represent a threat, that they are all just harmless people out riding motorcycles and that is all they do, then they can come to that conclusion and the people of this state can then judge.

I am quite happy to defend the South Australian police force in the actions that they have taken in relation to this run. A number of these motorcycle gangs have intimidated and antagonised communities in the past, and they challenge police. In one case a few years ago, a Gypsy Jokers convoy set up camp at the Mount Gambier clubrooms. A contingent of 50 police officers was dispatched from Adelaide to assist local police at Mount Gambier. The bikies were attacking the police station. This has happened in the past—admittedly, under a Liberal government—so perhaps the bikies knew that they had a government soft on crime. Perhaps they knew that these people were soft on crime, or perhaps they knew they had friends over there.

This government will not be intimidated and we will not allow South Australians to be intimidated. If police presence is necessary—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The Hon. John Dawkins can defend the Gypsy Jokers if he wishes—he is quite entitled to do so—but this government will not allow outlaw motorcycle gangs to intimidate ordinary South Australians. Perhaps the police presence that was at this particular run prevented a larger number of incidents like we had in 2001 when the previous government was in power, when we had these runs by the Gypsy Jokers and other motorcycle clubs where people were bailed up and where bikies were attacking police stations because some of their people were locked up.

As long as this government is in office, and as long as I am Minister for Police, we will not have that sort of behaviour in this state. If members opposite and the Hon. Sandra Kanck want to advocate something different, let them do so, but the public of this state will judge.

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