More than 500 people protested against the 鈥渂ikie鈥 laws in Brisbane on February 11. The crowd included unionists, Indigenous and community activists, members of motorcycle clubs, and family groups, who rallied in King George Square before marching through the city to parliament house.
bikie laws
A 40-year-old library assistant, Sally Kuether, was arrested and charged on January 24 under Queensland鈥檚 controversial anti-bikie laws.
She has been charged under new laws that prohibit more than two alleged bikies from meeting in public.
The mother-of-three met her partner Phillip Palmer and friend Ronald Germain at the Dayboro Hotel, north-west of Brisbane, on December 19. The ABC said they were supposedly 鈥渨earing club colours鈥 and were 鈥渁lleged associates of the Life And Death motorcycle club鈥.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman recently hinted that his government鈥檚 controversial bikie laws were likely to be repealed after a mandatory review in three years. 鈥淯ltimately, in less than three years' time, these laws can disappear from the statute books in Queensland, because that's the intention of the government,鈥 he said.
Newman claimed he never wanted the laws, saying: 鈥淚 didn't particularly want to see these laws implemented, but the sooner we can get rid of them the better.鈥
Brisbane activists, academics and unionists have resolved to launch a broad community campaign to fight the Queensland Coalition government鈥檚 attack on civil liberties.
The decision was made at a forum organised by 91自拍论坛 Weekly on November 12. Dr Mark Lauchs from the Queensland University of Technology, Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope, and assistant secretary of the Queensland Electrical Trades Union Peter Ong spoke at the well-attended meeting.