Australia - LAWS designed to give courts the power to declare bikie gangs a criminal organisation so control orders can be issued against their members have been passed by State Parliament after two days of fiery debate.
The LNP opposed the controversial Criminal Organisation Bill with Gaven MP Alexander Douglas giving a particularly passionate speech, drawing on his own experience with being wrongly linked to a bikie gang.
Dr Douglas likened the legislation's threat to free association to how he was treated after his teenage son John attended a post formal party organised for The Southport School's year 12 students at the Bandidos' Mermaid Beach clubhouse during the hotly-contested 2006 election campaign.
On Wednesday night, Dr Douglas told Parliament the bill would unwittingly draw in others who were never intended to be included.
"I have personally experienced the type of nonsense that this sort of linkage by association can lead to," he said.
"In the election campaign of 2006, the former minister for police, publicly on the Gold Coast, made grossly offensive and false statements linking my son to bikies because he had been at a function in a building owned by an outlaw motorcycle gang trust.
"My son was a 17-year-old in his final year of school and was at the official post-formal function.
"Parents were in attendance as chaperones. Paid security was on site. I was not at the function nor had any role whatsoever in the organisation of that function."
He said then police minister Judy Spence made damning statements about him and his wife as parents.
"Not one government member spoke in our defence and hell was unleashed via talk shows, talkback radio and voyeur night-time so-called current affairs television." Dr Douglas yesterday said he was offended by suggestions he was supportive of bikie gangs because he was voting against the bill.
"I am incredibly offended, I am deeply, deeply offended, I am most indignantly offended," he said.
"Am I involved with bikies, absolutely not, and I do not have family functions in bikies' dens."
Opposition justice spokesman Lawrence Springborg told Parliament the LNP opposed the Bill because it gave absolute power to the state to limit the rights of association of its citizens through a closed court process.
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