New QLD VLAD legislation- not just about 'bikies'

[Darklight]

Yeah the QLD cops were famous for removing ID during protests

There is a general movement *against* motorcycle protests within the bike community right now ( and a lot of arguing about it, as expected ;) )

Protests are a two edged sword on this issue. If a whole lot of us turn up it is piss easy for the media to put a sensationalist spin on it and thus justify more stupid legislation. If no-one turns up to make sure the media and police don't get a bite, then it's because no-one is interested

Better not to organise the damn things.

Spend the time hassling Newman and his cronies via their facebook pages and email instead. While it sounds like fuck-all, it has been surprisingly and incredibly effective in getting some positive spin on stories. People are starting to wake up that this is a civil liberties issue

[gtarman]

Yeah, I sort of agree - it's often more useful to engage in non-confrontational ways. But part of the attack on civil liberties in QLD (and elsewhere), has been that peaceful protests are even being disallowed and criminalized in many cases which is just a blatant human rights violation. So that generally makes me want to protest even more. The saddest thing is that most people don't even understand or care what's happening to them.

There's not many other modern Western countries where this kind of thing could go down without massive opposition. Australians are generally just stunningly unsophisticated and uneducated and unthinking when it comes to these kinds of things, so the government gets away with it.

Edited November 7, 2013 by gtarman

[Darklight]

Yeah I'm with you on the ambivalence.

But as a dear friend of mine said to me once " Be nice to people at the start. If it doesn't work you can always go back and be outrageous and obnoxious later on. You can't do it the other way round "

As an old ratbag from the 70s and 80s I took part in protests I thought were useful. But given the rise of social media and the increase in broadcast media control, it's looking like FB and Twitter and emails are having the biggest positive impact at this point in the campaign. I'm sticking with that right now

Here is what Amnesty International have to say about the new QLD legislation

http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/33255/

Queensland bikie laws breach international fair trial standards

[Darklight]

If you have been *personally* affected by the new QLD laws, the Motorcycle Riders Association of QLD is interested in hearing about your experience, whether you are a rider or not. Every reliable, firsthand account you are prepared to stand by is a nail in the coffin of the legislation

If you have been directly in contact with police citing the VLAD laws ( whether they were correct in their interpretation of those laws or not ). If you have been affected by the VLAD laws in your employment or study, or while in transit, or any other way, please consider helping ensure that this legislation does not stand.

Your account needs to be firsthand, experienced directly by you, not word of mouth from your cousin's budgie. I can't stress that enough. Contact me for further details

The QLD legislation can't be changed until it is challenged in the highest court. But collating reports of how this legislation is being abused lets the wider public know just how dodgy the legislation actually is

Confirmed reports of the abuses of power under this legislation and it's enforcement are starting to come in.

People who have not committed any offence are affected in their employment, ability to run legitimate businesses, pulled over and told they have to submit to having their tattoos photographed and on file ( untrue unless you have committed an offence ). Not just 'bikies'. Car drivers. Young 'uns riding off road. People trying to get a meal at restaurants wearing shirts which staff claim link them to proscribed groups ( the penalties for serving alcohol to members of proscribed groups are harsh and the wording is vague ). One woman's final year university student placement was terminated because her dad is allegedly a member of a proscribed group.

I have reliable firsthand reports of one charity run with +160 mainly sports bike riders being detained by the side of the road for over an hour while police check motorcycles and credentials. FFS it gets hot out there. If you are travelling, especially by motorcycle, take extra water, sunscreen and a hat

[gtarman]

Glad to hear this is being done. Although in an ideal world they wouldn't need examples, they would just look at the legislation and say "Hmmm, that was a bit shit, huh."

Although in an ideal (or even acceptably un-moronic) world, this legislation would never have been allowed to pass in the first place.

Good on you DL

[Heretic]

It is like the Newman govt is trying to bring back the Joh days ...

After the bikers they will persecute other minority groups , probably in order to distract the public attention from their official corruption and shady rorts and scams .

Seen it all before , by the same political party ...

[PhoenixSon]

The cops in QLD are no longer required to wear name badges. They can now apply to wear only rank and number badges, making identification harder

http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-police-officers-allowed-to-ditch-name-badges-ahead-of-g20-summit/story-fnii5v6w-1226754578580

good time to get your own video camera and record the police, lots of wee little gadgets to slap on your helmet or car so that you have your own evidence.

[Darklight]

According to the Courier Mail yesterday, if you are linked to a proscribed criminal organisation ( for now it's only some motorcycle clubs, but any organisation can be added to the list with no judicial oversight )- you may have your trades license taken off you

The article refers to a question posed on 16 October to the QLD premier about the involvement of individuals and alleged criminal organisations in the QLD government tender process, but Newman's answer covered a broader base. Hansard document here

http://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw-J2SKIVTHISndrRmFfNzhLNjg/edit?usp=sharing

It's unclear at this point whether the trade licenses will be revoked 'just because' of your connections, or whether you will have your license revoked if you have committed a criminal offence under the VLAD laws and are convicted

Nor is it entirely clear what kind of trades will be affected. Prior to this, trades directly affected by the legislation include tattooing. There is talk of the police targeting security firms, motor dealerships and gyms. This article gives the impression they are planning also to target the construction industry

This is circuitous logic. If you are a current ( or former- there is no provision under the law for being an ex-member ) member or associate of a proscribed organisation it is assumed under law that the purpose of that organisation is the perpetration of criminal acts. If, as a result of the same legislation, you are prohibited from undertaking your legitimate employment, what the fuck are you supposed to live on? Will you be compensated for the loss of your job and any investments you made to obtain it? Fuck no

The QLD govt is flying a very ugly kite.

Fight it by reading and understanding the legislation, and then commenting on Campbell Newman or Bleijie's Facebook pages. Email your QLD representative.

The online campaign is the best weapon we have against this stupidity. And it is working. Last week there was a significant change in the language used by the media to describe the issue, with an increasing bias towards the positive and the enquiring. The LNP has had to redouble their efforts to regain lost ground, this week should be interesting

Edited to add source document from Hansard

Edited November 18, 2013 by Darklight

[gtarman]

It just keeps getting better (from a comedic standpoint anyway)

[IndianDreaming]

Is the government considered a criminal organisation?

[botanika]

Australia the anal cuntry

[shortly]

Queensland police gain protection from being sued

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/police-to-gain-protection-from-being-sued-20131120-2xu5l.html

[gtarman]

^ heard about that on the radio today. Also that apparently during the G20 summit police won't have to record any of their arrests or searches in the usual central register that was brought in with all the other anti-corruption stuff a way back, so basically they can abuse their powers as much as they want, because there's not going to be any proper record of what happens and thus no accountability. They'll also only be identifiable by their 11-digit ID number, so chances are they're going to get away with pretty much anything.

They basically want to quell any protests, peaceful or not by the sound of things.

Things are getting absolutely ridiculous around here

Edited November 21, 2013 by gtarman

[IndianDreaming]

Wow - I didn't vote for this... everyone should be held accountable for their actions, what else is there to mediate the level of force used?

Bring out yer dead... the end of the world is nigh...

[Darklight]

Also that apparently during the G20 summit police won't have to record any of their arrests or searches in the usual central register that was brought in with all the other anti-corruption stuff a way back, so basically they can abuse their powers as much as they want, because there's not going to be any proper record of what happens and thus no accountability.

Do you have any references for that statement? I'd love to see how they get away with that one, and whether the laws were changed recently or have been in place a while

Hey guess what- you can now register your non-illegal motorcycle ride containing 12 riders or more. How great is that? Do you feel safe yet?

http://www.police.qld.gov.au/forms/registerride.asp

The FAQs attached to that page do say that you may be contacted or visited by police once you have processed the application. Police may also visit you at the start of the ride, and you may also attract police attention during the ride. There is no mention of listing details of all participants yet, perhaps the police could ask nicely when they visit, once you have submitted the application ( 7 days in advance, as required )

Ignoring for a minute the grim overtones and historical implications of registering an already-legal gathering and journey- and ignoring again what sort of smug arseholes would want to differentiate themselves from other citizens as thus, right about now I would like to ask what the fucking point of registering if they are going to hassle you anyhow. And most of us deviate from our planned route when on a ride, making much of the paperwork irrelevant.

Riders who are participating in the registered rides are also advised to be aware of anyone who may be a member of a proscribed Criminal Organisation, like one of the banned motorcycle clubs. Because apparently such people like to remove their colours sometimes and infiltrate 'normal' groups. From this we can assume that the QPS believe that members of 1% clubs would don the garb of the Ulysses and HOG fraternity so that they can... what... I can't stop laughing long enough to imagine...those sneaky 1%ers

We can of course thank the HOG and the Ulysses fraternity in QLD for supporting those changes at the recent QLD meeting with QLD police minister Jack Dempsey. By thank, I mean smack around the head with a 4 x 2 until they bleed out. Traitors.Traitors to all of you. Not just all motorcycle riders- all citizens

Edited November 21, 2013 by Darklight

[shortly]

^ heard about that on the radio today. Also that apparently during the G20 summit police won't have to record any of their arrests or searches in the usual central register that was brought in with all the other anti-corruption stuff a way back, so basically they can abuse their powers as much as they want, because there's not going to be any proper record of what happens and thus no accountability. They'll also only be identifiable by their 11-digit ID number, so chances are they're going to get away with pretty much anything.

They basically want to quell any protests, peaceful or not by the sound of things.

Things are getting absolutely ridiculous around here

Is that like the bikie laws are only for outlaw motor cycle clubs?

[Bigred]

[gtarman]

Do you have any references for that statement? I'd love to see how they get away with that one, and whether the laws were changed recently or have been in place a while

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-16/concern-over-police-accountability-under-proposed/4961320

[Darklight]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-16/concern-over-police-accountability-under-proposed/4961320

Thanks for that. It just keeps getting worse

As far back as May this year the QLD govt was trying to get people to register the fact that they had tattoos done since that date.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-08/tattoo-registry-rejected-as-infringement-on-rights/4677754

Ostensibly the proposed law was so that tattooists and parlours couldn't accept cash from un-named customers and potentially use the venue as a money laundering facility ( like no other business ever uses cash- ha! ). However clients would have had to register *in their own name using approved identification* on a government register. Not sure if the dollar value of that tattoo was mentioned, but you either link a payment to a credit card, or you are down as having paid cash and so they have a chance to grill you about that

No mention of photographic records of the finished tattoo was made, but data-sharing at a government level means it is perfectly feasible for you to be asked to show those tattoos when stopped if the records were available to Queensland police

Please note: the proposal was never made law. But it does show what the QLD government's intentions are, and how little they care for your privacy

[Darklight]

And hey, if you don't get your own way, you can always stack the deck.

The Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission got the sack after investigating their own chief

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/11/22/11/05/qld-govt-defends-sacking-entire-committee

The committee was investigating whether it's chairperson Ken Levy had misled the public in claiming he had no meeting with the government prior to releasing a print media article he wrote on the new VLAD laws ( "The Bikie" Laws ). Several members had called for his sacking during the investigation.

It's normal practice for an appointed committee member of anything, surf clubs etc to stand down during an investigation, but this wasn't going to happen. Frankly I'm surprised an internal investigation even got that far, so someone is noticing discepancies

So, you know, as you can when you have an overwhelming majority in a single parliament, they sacked the entire fucking committee- except for the bloke under investigation. Boom tish!

Edited November 26, 2013 by Darklight

[Sonny Jim]

so this year in aust we have had

the bikie laws

the vaccine laws (mandatory jabs for the kids or no dole, no school)

the home schooling laws (they basically want it outlawed, starting with registration in NSW)

the confiscation of drug abusing parent's children laws

something about people who've had their gun licence revoked can have their homes searched/raided by cops without a warrant.

I am probably forgetting stuff but

it's been a big year or so for tyranny

gateway laws

I think these proposed laws are a test. If the aust public won't show an aptitude towards the protection of their children from basic and obvious threat(s) our oligarchical examiners (remember it's a test) are gonna get the idea that they have the green light to come at us faster and harder. While our guard appears to be down.

[IndianDreaming]

Some info on how we go about showing our outrage without ending up labelled a terrorist would be nice. I, as a representative member of the public am an ignoramus git when it comes to politics.

So how does one go about kicking up a stink about all this?!?!?! I wrote a letter... Do I do an interpretive dance in front of parliament house? Chain myself to a heroin addict or a Harley? I really don't know so I apologise if my cheap humour offends. If anyone does know, please chime in - I'm all ears.

[gtarman]

Yeah mate, writing letters is a good start - write as many as you can to as many relevant people - for example, if you're concerned about what Campbell Newman is doing in QLD, you can write to Campbell Newman's office, and to the the Governor of QLD's office (the governor has the power to appoint and dismiss premiers) voicing your concerns.

And spreading the truth about what's going on in this country in whatever ways you can - tell people about it and let them know how messed up it is.

Join some activist groups and go along to training days and meetings, get in the loop that way too. Sign petitions.

This is a big list of things to give you some ideas as well: http://activistshandbook.wordpress.com/

Edited November 26, 2013 by gtarman

[shortly]

Nah i'm started to get excited about newman, i think he might actually have some real potential.

My son have been pointing out the similarities between newman & a couple of great men in history (not always good, but certainly great) and there are more than a few parallels.

Not like the bad tempered, petty, £10 pom CEO down in in canberra.

No i think newman might just have the spark of true evil.

Admittedly he still has a ways to go and his social engineering skills are only just emerging. He hasn’t really taken on any large groups yet, just singled out a couple of small minorities . So it’s a little hard to judge but its certainly worth giving him the chance to become what he may be, is it not?

After all its been a LONG LONG time since we have seen any real change & the status quo is well & truly entrenched, so the only way we can see any real change for the better is if we have a good strong shock into action.

Of course I could be wrong & he could be just another oxygen thief politician too dumb to realize that passing laws for criminals is like fucking for chastity.

Passing laws is only for the honest, for the rest of the population it is only going to make them more devious. And they are only constrained by their collective intellect & individual charisma, not by archaic british laws & treaties.

But hey, sometimes you just have to roll the dice.

Beware joining activist groups and going along to training days and meetings will only make you a police target like in the joh days.

And before you poo poo that remember the vast amount of AFP resources that were expended on surveiling CSG activists.

Any or all of whom could have become enemies of the state with the stroke of a pen.

[gtarman]

But the state is probably the closest thing I have to an enemy..besides that guy who sold me the dodgy whipper snipper

But yeah I don't doubt my name is going on some kind of list for involvement in (peaceful) activist groups, but I don't mind. In the words of US Continental Civil War General John Stark: "Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils."

Now that I've mentioned death in my rhetoric I'm almost certainly on several lists, although I don't at all mean it in a literal or violent way, just as a "stark" example (pun!) - all I mean is that my freedom and the freedom of those around me means more to me than the possibility of being slapped on the wrist or thrown in some random detention center for attending peaceful rallies and/or making my opinions heard. I don't advocate violent resistance in this country at all, and am not any sort of extremist.

But I also think Henry Thoreau was onto something when he allowed himself to be jailed for refusing to pay a war tax that he thought was immoral:

According to some accounts, Emerson visited Thoreau in jail and asked, “Henry, what are you doing in there?” Thoreau replied, “Waldo, the question is what are you doing out there?” Emerson was “out there” because he believed it was shortsighted to protest an isolated evil; society required an entire rebirth of spirituality. Emerson missed the point of Thoreau’s protest, which was not intended to reform society but was simply an act of conscience. If we do not distinguish right from wrong, Thoreau argued that we will eventually lose the capacity to make the distinction and become, instead, morally numb.

And Thoreau also has said (and this is one of my favourite quotations):

If government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.

But I agree that Campbell Newman does seem to be shaping up for possible true evil, which could be interesting and possibly useful in galvanizing widespread opposition if it's not too late by then.