Crime wins in bikies judgment: SA govt

Organised crime has claimed a victory with a court ruling parts of South Australia's
anti-bikie laws invalid, Attorney-General Michael Atkinson says.
But Mr Atkinson has vowed to win the war despite losing a legal skirmish over
controversial "world-first" laws designed to dismantle outlaw motorcycle gangs.
The government is considering a High Court challenge to Friday's judgment in the
Full Court of the SA Supreme Court that aspects of the laws are invalid.
The government will also move to amend the legislation as soon as possible, Mr
Atkinson said.
In a ruling bikies say casts doubt on similar anti-bikie laws elsewhere in
Australia, the SA Supreme Court ruled parts of the SA laws invalid.
However, NSW maintained its laws were different and both Queensland and Western
Australia have vowed to press ahead with their own legislation.
SA's legislation empowered the attorney-general to declare any group - not just a
motorcycle club - a criminal organisation.
Once the organisation was declared, police could ask magistrates to place control
orders on its members, effectively banning them from associating with each other.
The SA government declared the Finks motorcycle club a criminal organisation in May
this year, with eight Finks subsequently subjected to control orders.
Two Finks - Sandro Totani and Donald Hudson - challenged the orders in court,
arguing they were unconstitutional.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, the Full Court of the SA Supreme Court declared
the control orders invalid. These were made under section 14.1 of the Serious and
Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008.
"It's a temporary win for organised crime," Mr Atkinson told reporters.
"But the Rann government will be back. We are in control and we will amend the
legislation as necessary to continue the war.
"We don't feel the least embarrassed or regretful that we took the fight up to the
gangs to the very limit and beyond of our constitutional authority."
Mr Atkinson said despite existing control orders being made null and void by
Friday's judgment, another section of the Act could still be used to seek such
orders.
But he conceded bikies would now have more avenues to contest control orders than
under section 14.1 - which effectively gave magistrates no discretion to refuse an
application.
"We as a government, we were always aware of the vulnerabilities of our legislation
because as a government we are willing to test the constitutional boundaries in
order to take the fight to the outlaw motorcycle gangs," he said.
Lawyer for the Finks Craig Caldicott said similar laws in other states were in doubt
as a result of Friday's ruling.
"I would tend to suggest those laws are invalid," Mr Caldicott said outside the court.
NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos said his government would review the SA
judgment but said NSW's laws had key differences.
Under the NSW law, control orders are subject to judicial discretion and
applications are heard by Supreme Court justices, not magistrates.
Acting Premier Paul Lucas said the Queensland government still planned to push ahead
with its new laws by the end of the year.
"Obviously we will study the court outcome from South Australia ... we are being
very careful in terms of the drafting of our legislation to make sure we get it
right," Mr Lucas told reporters.
WA Attorney-General Christian Porter said the SA court hearing was the main reason
the legislation was yet to be introduced to the WA parliament.
He said he intended to proceed irrespective of the SA court's decision.
"We wanted to analyse the outcome to see how we could avoid difficulties with our
own legislation," Mr Porter said in a statement.
The Northern Territory and Tasmania have also indicated an interest in introducing
similar legislation.