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Mark Hinchliffe·
Motorbike news
··12 Comments·2 min read

Anti-bikie police action a ‘minor inconvenience’?

OzzyA Brisbane motorcycle mechanic was made to take off his shirt on a busy roadside during a recent police ID check.
Oz-Racing owner and mechanic Ozzy Graf says he was humiliated having to take off his shirt to prove to police he had no “incriminating” bikie tattoos.
Meanwhile, mums drove by with their children after picking them up from school.
He says he was pulled over in his van because it had the word “motorcycle” signwritten on the side and the police were checking for any bikie involvement. He says he has never done any work for any bikie clubs.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman apologised to recreational riders that they may suffer some “minor inconvenience” in the current police action against bikies under new far-reaching legislation.
How would he feel having to take off his shirt in front of mums and school children on a busy roadside? Would he call that a minor inconvenience?
I can’t wait to ask the Police Minister Jack Dempsey if such a situation is a “minor inconvenience”.
And thanks to the Queensland Police bikie task force, I will get the chance.
MotorbikeWriter.com has been invited to the next meeting with Police Commissioner Ian Stewart and the Police Minister on Tuesday.
At their first meeting with recreational motorcycle club representatives, Commissioner Stewart proposed the idea of the controversial voluntary ride register.
READ ABOUT THE REGISTER HERE
It will be interesting to hear the Commissioner’s response on the effectiveness of his suggestion and to answer questions about ongoing harassment of recreational riders.
According to a poll on this website, 93% of respondents say they would not register their ride.
At least we can now confirm that the Minister is serious about ongoing liaison with recreational riders.
The email invitation to the meeting from Task Force Maxima Senior Sergeant Shaun Dinon says: “As you know the Minister expressed a desire to hold a further meeting to continue discussions and provide you with an update regarding the legislation and Government intent.”
Check back here on Tuesday afternoon for a report on the meeting.
Meanwhile, take the time to go for a ride this weekend. Spend your money at motorcycle shops, biker-friendly cafes and biker pubs which are suffering from these laws. Read my story here.
1459937_618518488210576_1512105726_nAlso, it would be great to see you at the Freedom Ride rallies planned around the country on Sunday (December 1).
We are expecting thousands to turn out in what is bound to be an historic event.
It should also become an annual event to show our numbers and lobby government over issues such as lane filtering, free footpath parking, concessional multiple rego, etc.
While I can understand the justification for many rider’s anger over the current erosion of civil liberties contained in these new laws, the Freedom Ride rally organisers hope for a peaceful protest, not a riot.
It has specifically been planned for a Sunday so as not to disrupt traffic.
They want to show the media and public the reasonable, considerate and responsible face of motorcycling.
We don’t want the media to herald the rally as another bikie riot. It was a mini-riot (the Gold Coast bikie brawl) that started the knee-jerk response from the government. We don’t need to give them any fuel for more draconian laws.

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Mark Hinchliffe
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12 Comments

  1. So much for all those people saying you will only get hassled if you look like a duck and ride a duck motorcycle ….
    This is absolutely disgraceful in what is supposed to be a modern democracy .

  2. there is of course another possible explanation the police force is now pretty much a non discriminatory employer
    Maybe they were just thinking of asking him out on a date?
    where they wearing leather jackets and caps?
    motorcycle boots?
    did they have handlebar mustaches?
    humming anything from the village people?
    did they have their hands in their pockets when he took his shirt off?
    If this happens to you you can always try a little humor like “is that a gun in your pocket,or do you just like tattooed men?”
    but if they pull out the handcuffs ………RUN

  3. Thanks Mark for helping to promote and inform the riders of Australia.
    As Blind Freddy can see the QPS are abusing the powers they have been gifted by Newman, Bleijie, and Co. This behavior of the QPS is documented in the Fitzgerald Report and various other reports over the years. (Section 7 of the Fitzgerald Report)
    The CMC has clearly become a rubber stamp to whatever QPS, wants to do. With most enquiries being handed back to the QPS to investigate themselves, in many cases the officer that a complaint is against does the investigation. Most people can see the flaw in this system, yet the QPS feel it is their right.
    Well I ask what of the rights of Queenslanders to be protected and served by the police force. Queenslanders are more and more waking up to the truth, unfortunately, too few too slowly, due in large part by a mainstream media, that is intimidated and harassed by the QPS & the government if they published any story against the will of QPS or the Government.

  4. Sometimes the duck is disguised as a chook and then hidden in the rabbit hutch.
    Good advertising opportunity but.

  5. So far I have had a random licence check whilst test riding a customers bike and had to waste an untold amount of time explaining why I was riding someone else’s motorcycle ,even though I was wearing a work shirt with my companies name on it and explained to the officer that I was a QLD transport approved vehicle inspector ,the officer still seemed to treat me like a lower class citizen . And whilst transporting a truck load of motorcycles from Brisbane a few weeks we were stop on the side of a very busy M1 and questioned about our actions , I had documentation for all the bikes we were carrying and proof of who I was and why we were transporting them , but it still took two police vehicles and more than half and hour be for we were allowed to go about our business .Add this to the fact that some of our regular customers are considering selling there bikes because they don’t want to risk any trouble ! Well that’s just what we need for the Queensland economy .
    And yes I have Tattoos and ride a Harley but that shouldn’t instantly label me as criminal should it ?

  6. First they ban guns, then you must register, then slavery. They should tell them get rid of the anti bikie laws and abuse or its war.

      1. Its not an anti-bikie law , nowhere in the VLAD legislation does it mention bikies , only prescribed organisations .

          1. Amazing they didn’t include Brothers 4 Life , probably the most violent ‘gang ‘ in Australia , at least for its size . By not anti-bikie I meant its use wasn’t confined , by definition , to bikie clubs -:)

  7. @ Robbie. With the amount of bike thefts going on around the place I think it is great that the police are doing thorough checks. In fact most people would be complaining quite loudly if the police let a van full of bikes go past, or a rider on a bike not theirs, without making sure it was ridgydidge.

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