MPs “alert and alarmed” ahead of security briefing
Police will brief the state’s MPs on “personal and office security” as parliament prepares to debate new measures to curb organised gang crime.
InDaily can reveal Government whip Tom Kenyon has invited all members to the briefing, to be held when parliament resumes in a fortnight.
In an email distributed late yesterday, Kenyon wrote: “As the Serious and Organised Crime Bill is before Parliament, it is an appropriate time for a briefing from SAPOL on personal and office security.”
The suggestion hasn’t been universally well received, with one member privately joking that the Government was “alert and alarmed”.
It’s understood senior MPs have already been given a security rundown by police, who advised there was a “low risk” of bikie retribution.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall told InDaily: “I am not concerned for my safety.”
Kenyon said he had requested the broader briefing because there was “always a concern about security, and not just because of this Bill”.
“This Bill will ask the Parliament to be the decision-makers about these (bikie) organisations, and while in the past they have always used legal avenues (to oppose legislation) – and I suspect they would continue to do that – it’s really an opportunity to remind people of the correct procedures,” he said.
Asked if he anticipated a heightened security threat over the legal crackdown, he said: “I don’t expect any, but it’s always good to be prepared.”
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“This is a good opportunity to go through the processes, and remind people what they need to do and what they don’t.”
Premier Jay Weatherill, asked if he expected outlaw gangs to intimidate MPs into opposing the legislation, said: “I think that’s certainly a risk, so we’ve invited members of parliament to consider this matter (quickly).”
“Obviously they should be considering it as long as is appropriate, but I don’t think we should be delaying the passage of this important legislation,” he said.
The laws would effectively declare membership of outlaw gangs a criminal act, banning people from wearing club colours or accessories in licensed venues or from appearing in public with two or more other members of a declared gang. But as InDaily reveals today, it has already hit its first snag, inadvertently listing a local community sporting club as a declared organisation.
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