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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-14 Daily Xml
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Personal Explanation

MOTORCYCLE GANGS

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (15:21): I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: Over the past few days I have been subjected to some attacks, I would say, by the Attorney-General, in relation to a seminar which I held on Friday in this place and to which all members were invited to discuss the so-called bikies bill. I want to respond to some of those attacks and the untruth of those attacks, particularly the statements made by the Attorney-General in a Dorothy Dixer in the House of Assembly on 12 February.

The PRESIDENT: I remind the honourable member that, in a personal explanation, she must refrain from debating.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: Yes; I am aware of that.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: But there is a lot that has been said by the Attorney-General. First of all, I want to address the question of whether or not I invited bikie gangs to this seminar. I told ABC Radio that I did not knowingly invite them. That is the case, but I have found out that my staff did extend invitations.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: If you want to put some sort of perspective on that you are entitled to, but one is allowed to make a mistake. When I spoke on ABC Radio I spoke the truth: I did not knowingly invite them. The Attorney-General gives this description of the way the seminar proceeded. He stated:

At the beginning of the so-called seminar—

I am not sure why it is 'so-called'—

Sandra Kanck said, 'Are there any Gypsy Jokers here?' to which one besuited gentleman said, 'I am a Gypsy Joker,' and the gathering burst into applause. They were pleased that the Gypsy Jokers were there. There were even name tags for everyone there who came along, and the Hells Angels were there in their T-shirts.

Yes, there were name tags but it did not say who these people represented: they simply had a Christian name and a surname. Again, I did not know. In fact, I did not know that there were any Hells Angels or Gypsy Jokers in attendance until I was phoned by The Advertiser at about 6 o'clock that night to say to me, 'You had Gypsy Jokers and Hells Angels members in attendance. What is your reaction to that?' I was completely surprised. I knew that there was a member of the Finks there because, towards the end of the afternoon, he put up his hand and asked a question and, in the process, he said, 'I am a member of the Finks motorcycle gang.' He was dressed in a suit and tie. I was quite surprised and I said, 'Stand up so everyone can see what a Fink looks like.' So, there was never, contrary to what the Attorney-General said, a comment made by me about Gypsy Jokers, because I simply did not know they were there.

In regard to the question about colours and so on, a member of the Motorcycle Riders Association was wearing a black T-shirt that had some colours printed on the front. When he put up his hand to speak, I said jokingly, 'Turn around and show us your colours.' There was someone there from the Attorney-General's Office—and, by the way, this man from the Attorney-General's office had not been invited. He simply turned up, and we did not have a name tag for him. I do not know whether he gave the information to the Attorney-General or whether or not the Attorney-General put his particular complexion on it.

The motorcycle groups I was aware of were the Christian motorcycle groups, and they were there in their outfits.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: No; they were called the Long Riders. I do not know why they are called the Long Riders. Another comment the Attorney-General made related to the missing Gypsy Joker, Steve Williams. The Attorney-General said:

In 2003-04, Steve Williams of the Gypsy Jokers did a series of news conferences and stunts with the Democrats.

To my knowledge, my colleague the Hon. Ian Gilfillan had one of his balance justice seminars, and he invited Steve Williams to come along to that. I do not believe there was a series of them at all. Anyhow, the Attorney-General went on to say that Steve Williams had disappeared and that he wondered whether or not the Democrats were doing anything for his family. He went on to say, 'Are they still in touch? Does she pray for the repose of his soul?'

I have never met Steve Williams. I believe my former colleague the Hon. Ian Gilfillan was correct to invite him along to discuss legislation that was affecting the bikies at that time. However, to suggest that, because someone attends a seminar conducted by any member of this chamber and that person subsequently disappears, the MP who organised the seminar is responsible somehow for their disappearance is quite sinister.

I have been contacted by a number of media outlets in regard to the comments made by the Attorney-General about Steve Williams. They had thought, from what the Attorney-General had said, that I had invited Steve Williams and had had contact with him. I want to make sure that people are quite clear that I did not invite Steve Williams here, although, as they say, I uphold the right of my former colleague to have done so.

I also want to address an ABC News item yesterday that also was somehow related to this seminar. I think it reached a new low for the ABC; I was absolutely shocked. On its 7.45am news yesterday, the ABC ran a story indicating that the Hon. Ann Bressington had raised here in parliament on Tuesday evening the fact that a camera had been stolen from her office. At the conclusion of the story, ABC News ran one sentence that said that the Hon. Sandra Kanck had held a seminar on Friday that was attended by bikies.

I checked with the Hon. Ann Bressington, who told me that the theft of the camera occurred last year. For the ABC to link the theft of that camera to me and the attendance of those bikies is absolutely reprehensible journalism.

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