Newsable: Australian expert warns against elements of government’s proposed gang laws
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Gang patches will be banned in public and police will have extra powers to stop gang members congregating under new legislation.
Mark Lauchs, an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, who specialises in motorcycle gangs, spoke to Newsable about such laws have worked in Australia.
The coalition government plans to introduce legislation this week that would crack down on gangs, but one Australian expert is warning against the unintended consequences the laws could bring.
Those in charge, including Police Minister Mark Mitchell, frequently point to gang laws across the ditch as proof that things like their proposed ban on gang patches and gang gatherings in public do work.
But, Mark Lauchs, an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, who specialises in motorcycle gangs, told Stuff’s daily podcast Newsable on Tuesday that technically that ‘proof’ isn’t there.
Click the play button above to listen to the full story or click here.
“A perception of safety definitely occurred as a result.. [but] that is the only evaluation of any part of any of the laws that’s taken place in Australia. We come back to the policy question - what were the laws intended to do? No one was really clear [at the time] and no one tested to see if they did anything,” he said.
“There are benefits that have come from the laws, but whether that was what they were put in place to achieve is a different question,” Lauchs added
Queensland’s state laws around gangs did have an effect on gang numbers once introduced, because a lot of bikies left the area, Lauchs told Newsable.
“It was what criminologists called displacement - they went somewhere else where they could act… New Zealand is going to have a national law when there’s nowhere to displace to. So you can’t get the benefit that Queensland got.”
Lauchs warned the proposals around prohibiting gang members from associating in public could have serious, unintended consequences.
“[In 2016] the Ombudsman in New South Wales found that the anti-consorting powers have been used more on street kids than motorcycle gangs or organised crime members,” he said before urging the government to reconsider its proposals.
“Before.. introduction of the same legislation as there is here in Australia, a very careful examination of the consequences and the potential for exploitation and unintended harm needs to take place.”
Listen to the full interview here.
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