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Mark Hinchliffe·
NewsMotorbike news
··7 Comments·2 min read

Protest over Tassie bikie ‘fashion law’

Riders are being asked to support a protest today over the state's anti-bikie "fashion law" that prohibits the wearing of "colours" associated with outlawed "bikie" clubs.

Riders are being asked to protest today against the state’s anti-bikie “fashion law” that prohibits the wearing of “colours” associated with outlawed “bikie” clubs.

UPDATE: Not many riders attended, but there was a sizeable crowd as these photos show. They also launched a parliamentary petition to scrap the laws. Click here to sign.

The law was first touted in September last year and has finally come into force.

This is despite the Liberal State government saying they would never follow Queensland’s Draconian VLAD laws.

In the first weekend of the new laws, 20 to 30 riders were stopped at a road block by a dozen uniformed police with several police vehicles and plain clothes cops. All up, some 70 police.

The result? Police confiscated three knives, issued two fines for non-compliant helmets, two for unregistered motorcycles and one for “hooning”.

Police could not provide any more information on what sort of knives they were as the matter is “now before the courts”.

Police admit there were no breaches of the new legislation which bans five declared “outlaw motorcycle gangs”: Rebels, Bandidos, Outlaws, Devils Henchmen and the Black Uhlans.

“Bikie” law protest

Rebel bikies anti-bikie clothing
Rebel Club members

A protest against the new laws is planned for Parliament House in Hobart from noon on Monday, 25 November 2019.

Former Australian Motorcycle  Council chairman Shaun Lennard says he is “surprised to see this happen in Tasmania”.

He says he received a “direct personal assurance from Will Hodgman as Opposition Leader in 2013” that the Liberals in Tasmania would not follow (then Queensland Premier) Campbell Newman’s “failed path” if they won government.

Bond Uni criminology lecturer and former police detective Terry Goldsworthy says Queensland’s heavy handed “VLAD” laws failed to prevent major crime.

The following Queensland Labor Government slightly watered down the laws, but there is still a “fashion police” rule that bans “bikie colours” in public because they “create fear”.

It is similar to the new Tassie rules.

See also

Tassie cops

Tasmania Police say they will be enforcing the laws banning the wearing of insignia of five “outlaw motorcycle gangs”.

This comes as interstate clubs rode into the state over the weekend.

“These are criminal gangs and their colours are designed to show affiliation with this criminality and intimidate others. The new laws don’t affect any other motorcycle clubs,” police media says.

“Our community can be assured there’ll be a strong police presence actively monitoring the activities of outlaw motorcycle gang members while they’re here.

“This will include vehicle checks, targeted drug and alcohol testing, monitoring for anti-social and criminal behaviour and traffic operations.

“Tasmania Police has rostered on a significant number of additional officers to assist with this operation and will be supported by a contingent of officers from interstate.”

So far, they seem to have collected three knives.

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7 Comments

  2. It has been said before but bears reminding…
    First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
    Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
    Then they came for “outlaw motorcycle gangs”: Rebels, Bandidos, Outlaws, Devils Henchmen and the Black Uhlans etc – but I did not speak out as I was Not one of them
    Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

  3. At least they are out there to see, not like the Sudanese gangs, middle eastern, etc. Just make sure these fools are not voted in at the next election. Right to associate is not a law. What’s happening in Tassie is discrimination.

  4. not clear from this, but were the 20-30 riders who were stopped wearing colours, or was this just a targeted crackdown specifically on bikes?

    if the focus was on more than just bikers openly displaying colours, where they also pulling over cars and searching the occupants for knives and checking the vehicles for defects? or was this blatant discrimination, harassment, and targeting of a specific group of lawful road users?

  5. What wanka called it a Fashion Law ., Obviously someone with no knowledge of the brotherhood of 1% Motorcycle Clubbs . Their identity and ideology is unique in society . To demean their Colours , by masking them a fashion statement is a very low and/or stupid act .

  6. Shaun Lennard believed a liberal politician. Obviously he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. No the laws did not work in Queensland but they did give the police an opportunity to harass any motorcyclists without being held to account. If these bikies are criminals, as claimed by the government and police, why haven’t they been locked up. There is either no evidence to support that claim or police can’t do their job so it’s easier to bring a VLAD law. Maybe police should forget about the bikies and go after the banks. I think they’re the bigger problem at the moment

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