Gypsy Jokers, Hell's Angels, Rebels, Finks and Descendents bikie club members will for the first time join together

Gypsy Jokers, Hell's Angels, Rebels, Finks and Descendents bikie club members will for the first time join together in protest against the Serious and Organised Crime Control Act, which came into effect in June last year.Dubbed the Freedom of Association Protest Poker Run, about 400 bikies from SA and interstate will mass in Gawler, north of Adelaide, and ride through the Barossa Valley together on Saturday.
And as if that isn't a defiant enough show of unity, a group of motorcycling enthusiasts, including members of opposing clubs, are only a few application process steps away from forming a legitimate political party.The unlikely alliance, known as the FREE Australia Party, hopes to hit South Australia's premier where it hurts - in parliament.The party's leader, Paul Kuhn - a committee member of the Motorcycle Riders Association of SA and a Justice of the Peace - said the group was formed because of deep concern anyone associated with a member of a club would be found guilty under the law."The Government is now controlling and dictating relationships," he said."Not all bikers are criminals and this Act doesn't differentiate between the two."Mr Kuhn is not the only member of the public questioning the civil liberties said to be lost under the Act.The SA Law Society, the SA Council of Social Services, various Aboriginal groups, the Greens and the Australian Democrats have all voiced concern about the legislation.
"This law is designed exactly to find people guilty by association," Descendants club member Tom Mackie told AAP."We are a lot of the things that are said about us, but we are not all of them."
However, Premier Mike Rann said the lawyers who represented bikies and civil libertarians had painted an "almost fairytale concoction" that could lead the public to believe gang members had been awarded Australian of the Year.