The Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA) notes the media reporting regarding the Comanchero Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG) national meeting occurring this weekend (7-8 September 2024) in Canberra.
Due to a lack of anti-consorting legislation, and other OMCG-related legislation, such as wearing of colours and firearm prohibition orders, the ACT has become a meeting location for organised crime syndicates such as outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCG).
AFPA President Alex Caruana said that the ACT Government has rolled out the welcome mat for OMCG’s, and this is another example to add to the growing list. OMCG’s frequent the ACT because they know they can’t meet in large groups and wear colours in many other jurisdictions in Australia.
“The ACT is Australia’s only jurisdiction that does not have a combination of anti-consorting laws, banning of wearing colours or firearm prohibition orders which is ridiculous given the threat that organised crime, including OMCG’s bring to the community.
“We don’t need a repeat of the 2018 incident in Fyshwick that saw a large number of Comanchero OMCG members congregating and fighting. If you haven’t seen the footage, watch it1. It received national media coverage. Do we really want this behaviour in Canberra? If a repeat incident occurs, then the ACT Government and ACT Attorney-General must be held to account for allowing this to occur.
“Every time the ACT Government works on legislation that will curtail criminal behavior and offending of organised crime gangs, they draft legislation that is weak and unusable in an operational policing environment and then walk away because it’s too hard.
“If anti-consorting legislation and firearm prohibition orders weren’t effective, then other states and territories wouldn’t have it. The ACT Government has deliberately made the ACT an OMCG safe ground due to ideology and weak legislation,” Mr Caruana said.
The AFPA is calling on political parties in the lead-up to the 2024 ACT election to commit to legislation, such as anti-consorting and firearm prohibition orders that will remove the enticement for OMCG’s to congregate in the ACT.
For comments:
AFPA Media and Government Relations Manager Troy Roberts – (02) 6285 1677 – troy.r@afpa.org.au
1https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x87u9wm
