Tasmania, Australia (September 27, 2018) BTN — Anti-consorting
laws designed to combat Motorcycle Clubs is gaining a foothold in Tasmania
have passed through State Parliament.
The state's Legislative Council agonised over the
legislation late into Wednesday night before holding a final vote on Thursday
morning.
The House of Assembly then ticked off on changes made by the
Upper House on Thursday afternoon.
The quick passage of this bill, which was only tabled in
Parliament 10 days ago, follows legislation passed at the end of August to
outlaw motorcycle gang members from wearing colours.
The Government hopes the anti-consorting bill will disrupt
organised crime groups such as motorcycle clubs by making it illegal for
a convicted offender to consort with another convicted offender within five
years of being given an official warning notice.
Five amendments to the bill made by the Legislative Council
were accepted by the House of Assembly on Thursday, including one that would
allow a court to issue a stay on a warning notice if it was being appealed by
the recipient.
Police Minister Michael Ferguson described the amendment as
unnecessary and unwarranted and said he was "not happy" about it, but
reluctantly agreed to ensure the bill would pass.
Upper House agonises over bill
Debate in the Legislative Council inched forward late into
Wednesday night, with individual words in the legislation being singled out and
objected to by Labor and independent members alike amid widespread concerns
about civil rights, unintended consequences and the powers of law enforcement
authorities in relation to a number of clauses and sub-clauses.
Leader of Government Business Leonie Hiscutt told opponents
the Government was "very disappointed" by their stonewalling,
repeatedly defending the legislation as having "the most safeguards of all
the state and territories in the country".
"Police have done an enormous amount of work on this
... there's still misunderstandings of the bill," she said.
In an at-times emotional marathon sitting, independent
member for Huon, Robert Armstrong, who identifies as Aboriginal, warned members
they could "put the whole Aboriginal community offside" with the
debate over a particular sub-clause involving traditional Aboriginal
definitions of family.
"I'm not quite sure how to put this across because I've
got to be careful," he said.
"It's a very sensitive issue and you could put the
whole Aboriginal community offside. I just warn people ... don't dig too deep
here."
'We're between a rock and a hard place'
Ms Hiscutt told the House the Tasmanian Bar had raised
concerns about "possible inequities" if the bill was expanded to
include a broader definition of family "to include extended family such as
uncles, aunts, cousins of Aboriginal people only, creating an inequity between
Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people".
"It would not be appropriate to allow the extended
definition of family for one race of people but only immediate family member
relations for others."
Ms Hiscutt said it was important not to offend but that a
"broader concept of extended family" would widen the defence
substantially, rendering the proposed consorting laws ineffective. But she also said "if it's the tradition, it will be
respected".
Labor accused the Government of failing to consult with the
Tasmanian Aboriginal community over the proposed legislation, demanding proof
it had spoken with Aboriginal leaders. Independent MP Rob Valentine told the House the issue was
"a very sensitive thing" and "in a sense it puts us between a
rock and a hard place".
"I'm going to support the Government's amendment ... at
the end of the day, it will be the Government that will have to deal with how
they've chosen to go forward on this," he said.
