❓ The Attorney General defends the effectiveness of the Criminal Law (Unlawful Consorting and Prohibited Insignia) Act 2021 in disrupting organised crime, highlighting the number of charges laid and ridiculing bikie gangs' plans to challenge the laws.
AnsweredQoN 788Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CRIMINAL LAW (UNLAWFUL
CONSORTING AND PROHIBITED INSIGNIA) ACT
788. Ms C.M. COLLINS to the Attorney General:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's efforts to protect the community and stop organised crime.
Can the Attorney General advise the
house how this government's anti-consorting and insignia laws are
disrupting and restricting organised crime in Western Australia, and how these
laws have allowed police to keep the community safe?
CONSORTING AND PROHIBITED INSIGNIA) ACT
788. Ms C.M. COLLINS to the Attorney General:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's efforts to protect the community and stop organised crime.
Can the Attorney General advise the
house how this government's anti-consorting and insignia laws are
disrupting and restricting organised crime in Western Australia, and how these
laws have allowed police to keep the community safe?
AnswerView source ↗
Madam Speaker.
The SPEAKER : Woo hoo!
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : That is an
in-caucus joke, members of the opposition, but thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank
the member for Hillarys for her question.
The SPEAKER : Thank you for
seeking the call.
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : In January
this year, the government's Criminal Law (Unlawful Consorting and
Prohibited Insignia) Act 2021 came into
effect. Since that date, there have been 112 charges preferred by police
against bikies. That is about 10 a month all year. There were mixed views on
how these laws were going to work. I recall that when these laws were
introduced, that spruiker for some criminal defendants, Mr Tom Percy, said that
these laws were ''unlikely to be of much consequence to them''
and for the bikies it would be ''business as usual''. I note that
in an article posted today by that redoubtable reporter Ben Harvey from Up
Late , he said that the bikies have had a number of meetings and they are
going to challenge these laws in the High Court. Can members imagine that?
These people who hold themselves out as the ''1%ers'', the ones
who live outside the law, are now going to go to Canberra and cravingly beg the
High Court to protect them from the McGowan government's anti-bikie
laws. What a joke. These people who say that they are outside the law are going
to go along and beg the High Court to intercede on their behalf. Well, we have
taken good constitutional advice. We are very confident about these laws. Bring
it on!
The second thing that Mr Harvey pointed out in his article
was that they intend to form a political party to challenge these laws.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : I will take
all those interjections. But what manna from heaven this is going to be for not
only Mr Harvey, but also the police, because to register a political party in
Canberra, they will have to supply the names, addresses and contact details of
1 500 members. Knocking on all those doors will keep the anti-gang squad busy for a month! Up Late will have to take
over two or three pages in The West Australian to publish all their
names . We cannot wait to see the registration papers for this party.
There is no doubt that the
anti-consorting and dispersal notice laws have been effective. We do not see
the mobs of gangs riding around on our streets today. We do not see that. This
is a very effective tool. Commissioner Blanch says
these laws are a very effective tool in the police toolbox to disrupt organised
crime. What are they about? What are their conspiracies about? They are
conspiracies to reach agreements to bash, murder and flood our streets with amphetamine. These laws, together with the firearm
prohibition laws brought in by my colleague Hon Paul Papalia , the
Minister for Police, have been very effective. No wonder the bikies are
squealing and coming to the point at which they are going to crawl to Canberra
and say, ''Please, judges, help us out. Protect our criminal business
from these laws that have been passed in Western Australia.'' They are
very effective, and I thank all members of this chamber who voted for them and
brought them into being. Thank you.
The SPEAKER : Woo hoo!
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : That is an
in-caucus joke, members of the opposition, but thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank
the member for Hillarys for her question.
The SPEAKER : Thank you for
seeking the call.
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : In January
this year, the government's Criminal Law (Unlawful Consorting and
Prohibited Insignia) Act 2021 came into
effect. Since that date, there have been 112 charges preferred by police
against bikies. That is about 10 a month all year. There were mixed views on
how these laws were going to work. I recall that when these laws were
introduced, that spruiker for some criminal defendants, Mr Tom Percy, said that
these laws were ''unlikely to be of much consequence to them''
and for the bikies it would be ''business as usual''. I note that
in an article posted today by that redoubtable reporter Ben Harvey from Up
Late , he said that the bikies have had a number of meetings and they are
going to challenge these laws in the High Court. Can members imagine that?
These people who hold themselves out as the ''1%ers'', the ones
who live outside the law, are now going to go to Canberra and cravingly beg the
High Court to protect them from the McGowan government's anti-bikie
laws. What a joke. These people who say that they are outside the law are going
to go along and beg the High Court to intercede on their behalf. Well, we have
taken good constitutional advice. We are very confident about these laws. Bring
it on!
The second thing that Mr Harvey pointed out in his article
was that they intend to form a political party to challenge these laws.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : I will take
all those interjections. But what manna from heaven this is going to be for not
only Mr Harvey, but also the police, because to register a political party in
Canberra, they will have to supply the names, addresses and contact details of
1 500 members. Knocking on all those doors will keep the anti-gang squad busy for a month! Up Late will have to take
over two or three pages in The West Australian to publish all their
names . We cannot wait to see the registration papers for this party.
There is no doubt that the
anti-consorting and dispersal notice laws have been effective. We do not see
the mobs of gangs riding around on our streets today. We do not see that. This
is a very effective tool. Commissioner Blanch says
these laws are a very effective tool in the police toolbox to disrupt organised
crime. What are they about? What are their conspiracies about? They are
conspiracies to reach agreements to bash, murder and flood our streets with amphetamine. These laws, together with the firearm
prohibition laws brought in by my colleague Hon Paul Papalia , the
Minister for Police, have been very effective. No wonder the bikies are
squealing and coming to the point at which they are going to crawl to Canberra
and say, ''Please, judges, help us out. Protect our criminal business
from these laws that have been passed in Western Australia.'' They are
very effective, and I thank all members of this chamber who voted for them and
brought them into being. Thank you.
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