Queensland Legal Society (QLS) President Annette Bradfield, with QLS Vice President and Principal of DA Family Lawyers Deborah Awyzio, released a media statement discussing the QLS’s prediction regarding the implementation of the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment bill (VLAD) and the proposed amendments to the Criminal Amendment Act 1945. Bradfield expressed the distress felt within the QLS over the proposed amendments to the Criminal Amendment Act 1945. Bradfield commented that these amendments potentially put the democratic rights of all Queenslanders at risk by disrupting the separation of powers between the government and the courts. The statement additionally expressed how the VLAD amendment also potentially puts the community at risk by broadening the spectrum for potential offenders, rather than solely for violent bikie gangs. The QLS believes that any association, business or group of more than three people that causes an offence, such as ‘wounding’, can receive the mandatory 15 year prison sentence if found guilty.
