The law will prohibit the display of insignia (also known as gang colours) of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.

It must be made very clear – this legislation does not affect the tens of thousands of law-abiding motorcyclists in Tasmania – it is specifically designed to target serious and organised crime through criminal gangs, including the Rebels, Bandidos, Outlaws, Black Uhlans and Devil’s Henchmen.

The majority of motorcyclists are law abiding and not members of these criminal gangs, and are fully entitled to keep wearing their club colours and insignia.

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs use their colours to threaten, intimidate and incite fear. They are not law abiding groups, like the majority of bike riders are law abiding.

In fact, they are serious organised criminal groups involved in drug importation and distribution, murder, rape, extortion, debt collecting and firearms offences.

A sobering example of the risk for Tasmanians is police intelligence that indicates senior leadership of one of the five organised gangs intends to relocate their operations from interstate to North-West Tasmania – a region that has already felt the negative impact of these gangs.

The danger posed by serious drugs like methamphetamine, also known as ice or speed, is one of the biggest threats to public safety, and it is known that organised criminal groups, such as OMCGs, are heavily involved in the importation and distribution of dangerous drugs into Tasmania. It is also known these gangs readily resort to violence or intimidation to protect their way of life.

There have been many arrests, convictions and jail sentences for individuals involved with OMCGs. Police intelligence highlights a continuing and disturbing pattern of organised crime, which places our community at unacceptable risk.

Tasmania is the only state in Australia that has not acted on OMCGs, so it is vital we avoid being seen as a weak link for organised crime.

Tasmania Police has been very clear that without specific legislation to target criminal groups, Tasmania is at risk of becoming a safe haven for them.

All other states, including Labor states, have implemented strong laws to protect the community from Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, and there’s a danger that if Tasmania doesn’t do the same thing, these OMCGs will move their activities here.

Tasmanian Labor needs to show the community that it is not out of touch with Tasmanians and indeed the Labor Party in other states, and vote for this bill.

It is important to remember this legislation has been carefully designed on advice from Tasmania Police and the Police Association of Tasmania, and we call on politicians from all sides to support it.

These gangs are well organised in their opposition to the government’s legislation and they’re working very hard to stop it, which shows they are worried about the government threatening their well-oiled business model.

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs are a dangerous element in our society and the community should not fall for the positive marketing some OMCGs employ to garner public support.

The Tasmanian government has a duty to ensure community safety is paramount.

We urge all members to heed the advice of Tasmania Police and the National Anti-Gang Squad from Australian Federal Police, and vote for this legislation.

We are committed to keeping Tasmanians safe, and we make no apology for our tough-on-crime approach. That’s why we support tougher sentences for child sex crimes and mandatory minimum sentences for serious assaults on emergency service workers, which, unfortunately, the opposition voted against.

Tasmania is a great place to live, work and build a future, and we will continue to protect Tasmanians, through introducing important legislation like this, but also by investing in police and emergency services.

We are continuing to boost police numbers after they were cut by the previous government. During this term of government we are recruiting a further 125 sworn officers and embarking on a $10 million build of new police stations.

The majority of new police officers will be deployed to frontline duties at first response main police stations and in regional and rural stations around the state to complement existing establishment levels.

There’s no room for a soft-on-crime approach when it comes to the safety of Tasmanians, and it is vital this law passes to give police the tools they need to deal with organised crime and send a strong message to OMCGs that they are not welcome here.