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Anti-bikie laws cost industry $5m/week

Travis WindsorMotorcycle businesses in Queensland are losing $5m a week in trade as the government’s crackdown on bikies places up to 10,000 jobs at risk.
According to Australian Motorcycle Business Chamber founder Travis Windsor, there are 1500 motorcycle-related businesses in Queensland that turn over $1 billion a year and employ more than 10,000 people.
“Since the introduction of the laws, there has been a 30% or more reduction in turnover and jobs have been lost,” says Travis who is one of the key speakers at Sunday’s Freedom Ride protest at Parliament House.
READ ABOUT THE HISTORIC EVENT HERE
“That means the industry, our industry, is losing at least $5 million each week.
“On top of this are the other businesses affected, tourism, hospitality, tattoo shops and it goes on.
“These businesses are suffering, people are being laid off. People’s homes are at risk.”
One of those businesses suffering a downturn in trade as recreational motorcycle riders park up their bikes for fear of being mistaken by police as bikies and harassed is Shark Leathers of the Gold Coast.
Owner of Shark Leathers John Kuhne says their trade is down by up to 40%. Shark
“Usually this time of the year is our busiest time,” he says.
“We’re doing a sale on Saturday just to try to get some revenue going again and we’re diversifying buying and selling cars to keep the cash flow going.
“We have seven staff. One of them is a casual and we’re hoping to keep them all on.”
Travis says that instead of whinging about the problem created by the anti-bikie laws, the Chamber will offer free professional assistance to businesses that have become collateral damage in the government’s war on bikies.
“We have assembled a team of business experts, including mentors, accountants, marketing, and more,” he says.
“We are all bikers and we will help any business in the motorcycle industry or any business owned by a motorcyclist, all for free.
“That’s no charge to access dudes that normally charge hundreds of dollars per hour.”
Travis urged riders to attend Sunday’s rally, but also to get on their bikes and ride and continue to spend money at motorcycle businesses such as Shark Leathers and visit biker friendly cafes, hotels and towns.

  1. Oh my goodness…..surely did the Qld Government not realize the exponential effect their disgusting laws would have on commerce in this state??? The very same Government who at pre-election time vowed to encourage and support small business, only now to watch it suffer by his own blood stained hands???
    Boy oh boy Mr Newman and his cronies DO have a lot to answer for irrespective of where this all will end.
    I think Alfred E. Neumann from Mad Magazine could have done a better job than what we bear witness to at present.
    To all small companies who are suffering as a result of this crap, may I offer you my good wishes and please battle on. The biking fraternity needs you

    1. Peter – I think the Qld Government expected to introduce the laws overnight and have a queue of patch-wearing buffoons lined up to trade their leathers for a pink onesie the next morning. Funny how that didn’t happen. Once the patches disappeared and clubhouses emptied, suddenly there were no easy targets and the true madness started. The association parts of the laws were probably(being generous here) intended to drive a wedge between bikies and their supporters, but are now just random.

      Of course, the biggest issue about this is calling these “bikie laws”…….they aren’t.

  2. Why is the Courier Mail not reporting this stuff? Plenty of big headlines when it all started and made Campbell look good. All gone quiet now. Time to start writing letters to the editor and get our voice heard outside our own circle.

    1. Hopper – To most of the non-bike riding public motorcyclists are either bad boys, road race hoons or “those annoying dirt bikers that tear up the park” and thus deserve what they get. Seeing riders pulled up and being search on the roadside only reinforces that impression, after all the police would not have pulled them over unless they had done something wrong – the system works, no story there! Look a rainbow unicorn!!!

      Mainstream media has gotten somewhat lazy – relying on media releases to generate stories(or just reprinting them outright) – without a press release and “vision opportunity” the story doesn’t exist…….and if you want to stay on the invitation list for government/police exclusives you shouldn’t rock the boat.

      The majority of weekend or occasional riders(probably the majority of riders and customers of the businesses above) do not factor into any story as they are largely individuals without any “group bargaining power” and do not want to get involved.

  3. We are wholesale Agents into the trade across Queensland , NSW and the NT with a customer base of nearly 300. I agree wholeheartedly with your comments, most customers have noticed a considerable drop of 30% or so. We also drive approx 7200kms every 5-6 weeks and have noticed not as many riders on the road and many HDs parked for sale. This is clear madness.

  4. these laws are not antibikie laws would the esteemed members of the press please stop misrepresenting them as such. They are simply a rewrite of the Nuremberg act of around 1935 in Germany and would make Adolf Hitler proud. The true target of the laws will be revealed next time a union strikes or acts disruptively in favour of it’s members.

  5. After experiencing the best 3 months in nearly 3 years to November being the worst, we too are struggling terribly. We fabricate motorcycle exhaust systems and now all I do is spend half of every day discussing how to alleviate the ridiculous defect notices that are being handed out. My business has been trading for 14 years in Queensland, servicing the country, and never before have I seen or been involved in such a shambles….First problem I see is they haven’t trained the police or traffic authority to determine the difference between a bikey and a biker….Moss Street in Slacks Creek is a lot quieter, few bikies and less bikers as well….

  6. Mr Newman and Mr Bleijie don’t care if your motorcycle related business goes broke, in fact they want you gone, its as simple as that, as far as they are concerned anything to do with bikes is criminal.The only thing they are interested in is retaining power for as long as they can, by any means available, at any cost. In doing so they will line their own pockets,and gather their own wealth at our expense.Your business means nothing to them.

  7. I find it extremely hard to believe that 5 million dollars per week is spent on new motorcycles, and if it is, where is this money coming from? If groups who ride motorcycles are not doing anything wrong I don’t understand why they don’t like these laws. If they aren’t doing anything wrong then they can’t be charged or convicted of anything.

  8. Miss Rhett – it’s not just new motorcycles. You also have spare parts, secondhand bikes, mechanic services, tyres (more often than cars), accessories, riding wear (some people buy gear to keep up with fashions), helmets (anywhere between $100 and $1500 each), the cafes along the main riding roads where social groups stop (add up a lunch bill for 20 people!) and accommodation in small towns that people go to for overnighters. There’s a lot more to it than just new bikes.
    If groups who ride motorcycles aren’t doing anything wrong, then why do they need to be stopped and “identified” and searched? Repeatedly? Other than for riding a motorcycle? Sure – they are free to go afterwards, but it’s a level of hassle that other people do not have to put up with.

  9. it never ceases to amaze me that there are so many people on this and other forums who are so ill informed about the VLAD legislation. 9 pages is surely not too difficult for anyone with a Grade 7 education or above to read and understand – google it! These are NOT anti-bikie laws. These are anti-civil liberties laws and the freedom to associate. They can be invoked against any group at any time. If you don’t do anything wrong, you have nothing to fear. That is so naive it is beyond belief.

    1. You are right, Paul. These are insidious laws that affect everyone. However for the expediency of a label, the media and public refer to them as anti-bikie laws and for consistency and general public comprehension that is how I will continue to refer to them.
      Also, this is not a political website, but a motorcycle website dedicated to informing riders and protecting their rights, first and foremost. Let’s not be pedantic and divisive about such minor issues as labels. We can spend all the time in the world tearing ourselves apart over such issues and all that does is distract us and dilute our message that innocent recreational riders are being harassed under these laws.
      Besides, of the 26 clubs nominated by these laws as outlaw associations, every single one is a motorcycle club. Make no mistake, there is an anti-bikie war going on and it’s inadvertently and dangerously becoming an anti-bike war.

      1. hi, i am 57 and been riding on the back of my new blokes trumpy. I have been suffering major depression and anxiety, (does not matter why) the doctors want to pump me full of their “drugs” (which started everything in the first place). I get on the back of Bonny and everything goes!!! Everything is right with the world, and the only downer is we have to stop riding some time. Maybe someone should offer Newman a ride. I find riding (well pillioning) to be better than any drug or alcohol or psych session. I am getting my licence in 2 weeks and (sad sob sob) will be getting a honda 125 to learn on and build my strength up to the VT400 Honda (oh could i get strong enough for the trumpy americana? the dream) so what has this got to do with this thread? A lot more relevance than these laws. Mark, nobody is tearing themselves apart, there is an informed and uninformed discussion occurring. BY the media and people such as yourselves continuing to use the LABEL “BIKEY LAWS” you continue to play into the governments hand. this may be a motorcycle site and not a political forum but sometimes in life we do not get what we want.(me i just want to ride an eternal sweeper.) And for the moment while these laws are being invoked and labelled, Biker Laws you and your site and all motorcycle sites are now caught up in it and to disregard the laws and their affects because it is a “political” issue would render any Australian motorcycle forum/mag as a doddering, senile, toothless tiger. THESE LAWS ARE NOT BIKER/EY LAWS!!! The Qld government is using the 1% and the medias beat up that breeds community fear to invoke laws that affect ALL PEOPLE IN QUEENSLAND, not just people riding bikes. We have to stop calling them BIKER laws, they are NOT!!! there is nothing pedantic or divisive about discussing these laws that have been incorrectly labelled. While they are labelled as such, the majority of Queenslanders are going to support them. It is all smoke and mirrors from the government to bring in laws that were invoked in pre-nazi germany. For the sake of motorcycle riders (I am going to be one soon! even if i am going rang dang dang) we HAVE to discuss these laws and UNLABEL them, they are not ANTI_BIKER?EY laws, they are laws that will make it illegal for people to protest their governments actions, teachers, police, nurses, human rights protesters, coal seam gas protesters anybody who disagrees with the Government and attempts to hold a public forum will be targeted. Newman is using a media beat-up of an incident, using peoples fear of bikey gangs (oh go and ask 100 people randomly if they have ever been harrassed, offered drugs etc by ANYONE from a bike gang) to bring in laws that affect basic rights to protest an unfair law or policy. I am not telling you that you are wrong, because anybody who writes on here it is a good thing, you have the right to continue to ride with Newman and the media and call these laws anti-biker laws, while you do so, the vast majority of Queenslanders who have only met a bikey through the media or sons of anarchy (no never watched an episode) will support these laws. I feel that we NEED to unlabel them and get the message out tothe average Joe an FLo Queenslander that they are being duped and that their uninformed fear created by the media is being used against them to erode their rights to form a group of 3 or more or congredate in groups of 12 or more if the Government at any time decides they do not agree with the group and their proposals. oh do i start about him laying down what conditions in prison that people found guilty under these laws will have to incur, no, I am all worn out, just waiting for the sun to rise so i can go get my daily dose of happy juice on the back of Bonny. . live to ride ride to live

  10. Acknowledged mate. However, my point is that the non-riding public need to be aware how all encompassing these laws are. Yes, they were initially directed at the 1%ers, which then became an excuse to harass anyone on a motorcycle. This will likely morph into an all out war against unionists, demonstrators, teachers, nurses or any other group which has a dissenting view to the Government. It’s going to be long road to ride until we escape this lunacy. Bring on 2015!!!

  11. hahahahahaha my comment is awaiting moderation. i have to wonder why. i never used a swear word or told a fart joke or put pics of me breast feeding. mmm gunna post this see if it has to await moderation. sheesh uh what freedom?

  12. They don’t care!
    Go back 8 months when the “HOON LAWS” were full steam a head and car enthusiasts were being harassed! Well now it’s your turn. The aftermarket sales dived during this period of nearly 18 months of pure harassment buy this government and it’s still occurring .

    The government cares nothing about your staff, your business, or wether you are on centerlink payments or not, they are focused on HOONS & BIKIES, that’s it!

  13. I have made a consciencous decision to not travel to Queensland for holidays until the laws are repealed. I have also started a petition to the US government to invoke trade sanctions until these VLAD human violations are revoked.

    http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/usa-government-trade-embargo-on-australia-until-queensland-removes-the-human-rights-violations-imposed-by-their-vlad-laws

    Feel free to sign as it needs 100,000 signatures to be considered by the Congress

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