Three cheers.
CANBERRA, April 2 (Reuters) - Laws designed to ban motorcycle
gangs were unveiled in Australia's most populous state on
Thursday following days of warfare between rival gang members
which saw street shootings and a fatal melee at Sydney's main
airport.
New South Wales state Premier Nathan Rees said the laws were
a "proportionate response" to escalating violence between
motorcycle gangs, including the beating to death of one "bikie"
and the near-fatal shooting of another.
"Ten days ago bikie gangs crossed the line," Rees said of a
deadly attack at Sydney Airport last week in which members of the
Hells Angels and Comancheros gangs brawled in front of terrified
passengers at the country's biggest airport.
One man was killed in the attack, beaten to death by up to 15
other men wielding metal bollards used to separate passengers in
the airport flight check-in area. Police have charged five bikies
over the deadly 15-minute brawl.
The bikie wars, fought largely over control of the illegal
drug trade, have shocked Australians, with one senior gang member
shot and seriously wounded while parking his car.
Flamboyant Comancheros boss Mahmoud "Mick" Hawi was said by
newspapers on Thursday to be in hiding in fear of reprisal
attacks, with a A$100,000 ($69,000) bounty on his head.
The new laws allow police to seek a court order to make
membership of a listed bikie gang illegal. Gang members who
continue to gather could face two to five years in jail.
Authorities will also be able to seize bikie assets and
search homes, sparking criticism from civil rights groups that
the laws are too draconian.
The laws are modelled on bans in place in South Australia
state, where bike gangs have been blamed for murder, drug
trafficking, prostitution and weapons smuggling.
Police have been empowered to dismantle gang headquarters and
force members to account for any unexplained wealth or income,
but lawyers are challenging the laws in Australia's high court.
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