Freedom riders converge on parliament
The streets of Melbourne echoed with the low rumble of engines on Sunday 1 December. Close to a thousand motorcyclists from around the state converged on the Victorian parliament to protest against the introduction of so called ‘anti-bikie’ laws in Queensland.
An unprecedented attack on civil liberties, the laws restrict the freedom to associate, assemble and travel. Melbourne’s protest was part of a series of coordinated Freedom Rides across the country. The black leather clad crowd heard speeches from John Smith of the God Squad, renegade priest Father Bob Maguire and Heather Ellis from the Independent Riders Group.
Smith made the connection between the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) laws in Queensland and anti-association laws used by the Nazis to round up Jews, opponents and trade unionists.
Ellis voiced concerns about the laws spreading. “We are already seeing groups of motorcyclists stopped and searched by police and pubs banning us,” she said.
Anti-bikie hysteria has hit Victoria in recent months. Police have raided some bikie groups’ headquarters and established a new anti-bikie “strike team.” Authorities can now also rely on newly proclaimed “anti-fortification laws” that allow them to vandalise and assault during raids.
Not content with these powers, high ranking police are now whining about the difficulty of proving in court that an organisation is criminal under the law, unlike in Queensland under Newman’s new laws.
State governments everywhere are looking to the Queensland example as a guide. Victorian Premier Denis Napthine recently warned: “We’ll watch what happens in Queensland and … we’ll be early adopters of anything that works.”
When asked why people should protest these laws, Damien Codognotto, organiser of Melbourne’s Freedom Ride, told Red Flag: “It is the responsibility of everyone in a free society to protect their freedoms. Doing nothing to protect democracy leads to rule by an exclusive elite.”
