The Wilson Report (chaired by ex-Supreme Court Judge Alan Wilson) was charged with reviewing the 2013 anti-bikie (VLAD) legislation.
The Wilson Report said that it saw its job as one which also required the consideration of the VLAD laws in the context of framing effective anti-organised crime legislation for Queensland.
While the Report recommended the repeal of the greater part of the 2013 VLAD laws it has gone a further step and developed a renewed Organised Crime Framework which it describes as a package of laws which preserves some parts of the 2013 laws but overcomes what the Taskforce concluded were excessive, disproportionate or an unnecessary element of it. The Report notes that its recommendations are better suited for combatting not just OMCGs but organised crime in all its forms.
The Terms of Reference asked the Taskforce to consider whether the provisions of the 2013 legislation were effectively facilitating the successful investigation, prevention and deterrence of organised crime but the Terms of Reference also asked the Taskforce to develop a new ‘serious organised crime’ offence with mandatory penalties.
This particular term of reference of the Taskforce dealing with ongoing mandatory penalties received very little publicity both in the Taskforce set up and during the course of the Taskforce’s work.
Chapter 1 notes that there are real questions about the nature and extent of OMCG crime in Queensland noting that one commentator argued it is as low as 0.17% of all crime and the 2015 Byrne Report on organised crime set it at 0.52% (criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said in respect of the Byrne Report that bikies actually commit far less than 0.52% of crime).
Terry O’Gorman
12 April 2016