Bikies court win throws Labor laws into disarray
Today’s High Court judgment in the Wainohu case ruling the NSW anti-bikie laws invalid has thrown Labor’s anti-bikie laws into disarray.
The judgment has escalated the court’s concerns on the legitimacy of anti-bikie laws.
Whereas last year’s Totani case focussed on the institutional integrity of the courts, in this case the High Court has ruled that the anti-bikie law is beyond the legislative power of the Parliament of NSW.
South Australia’s anti-bikie law is very similar to NSW – in fact, the Premier reckons that they were modelled on ours.
Shadow Attorney-General Stephen Wade said that the time has come to fundamentally reassess our anti-organised crime legislation and policing strategies.
“This is the second embarrassing loss in the High Court for SA’s Labor Government,” Mr Wade said.
“It is time to ask, is money better spent arguing novel laws before the High Court only to have them struck down or to invest that money in police out in the field?
“Since the Supreme Court decision in Totani in 2009, we have been calling on Labor to get the anti-bikie legislation back into the Parliament so that SA has refreshed, effective laws which we can rely on.
“Despite all the rhetoric about bikies, Labor has been happy to just sit back and wait over a year for the challenges in the courts – wasting time, wasting taxpayer money and risking the safety of South Australians,” Mr Wade said.