More anti-bikie nonsense, WA banning them from pubs.

Image: The sort of people you meet at bikie rallies.

The ongoing campaign by state governments started after a brawl in Sydney airport where one of them was killed. Being a public spectacle has resulted in a sky falling knee jerk reaction nation wide. Most states are working on bans on bikies, and two of those efforts have been overturned in the High Court.

Now Western Australia is joining in the stampede with probably the stupidest action of the lot:

POLICE want every known bikie and crime figure in WA banned from pubs and clubs under tough restrictions being negotiated with the State Government.

The move comes as the WA Liquor Commission considers a new application from police to outlaw veteran Coffin Cheaters bikie Eddy Withnell from licensed venues, in what is a test case for sweeping prohibition orders against all bikies and crime figures.

Sources told The Sunday Times that if the Withnell application was successful, it would open the floodgates to a deluge of applications by police for blanket bans no matter if the individual has convictions or is accused of committing offences in a licensed venue.

But civil libertarians and bikies yesterday slammed the proposal, branding it "ridiculous" and discriminatory.
They said prohibition orders should be considered case-by-case.

Under the Liquor Control Act, the Police Commissioner can apply to the Director of Liquor Licensing or the Liquor Commission to prohibit a person from entering a licensed venue because of a criminal conviction or suspected involvement in serious and organised crime. Anyone who fails to comply can be fined up to $10,000.

Until now, police have only applied to have bikies banned if they were involved in offences at pubs or clubs. But under the new moves, the orders will be sought based on their gang links.

Were a person or group likely to commit offenses at licensed premises then the publicans themselves would not want them. In such a case they would be quite within their rights to ban them from their own premises, and others would if they saw fit do the same. The idea though that people can be banned from entertainment venues over matters that have no relevance to those premises, regardless of the wishes of the owners is nothing short of draconian.

I confidently predict another win for the bikies. Good luck guys.