United Motorcycle Council NSW

When there is reporting in the media that involves inaccurate reporting or unjustified association of criminal activity with motorcycle clubs and their members, we try to highlight the facts. Some of the following might surprise you:


CLAIM
In a completely unsourced and unattributed article, the Gold Coast Bulletin claims the Finks are building a new clubhouse.
TRUTH - Posted 17/8/09
The club has said the building in question is not its clubhouse.  It is a private premises at which a number of people exercise with gym equipment. After pressure from the UMC, the Bulletin published a three-sentence article on August 14, containing the real story (compared with a full page attacking bikers the previous day), and revealing that it was “police sources” that had fed them the false information.

MYTH
“Outlaw” and “1 per cent” motorcycle clubs are “the 1 per cent of riders who try to live outside the law”.
TRUTH - Posted 22/7/09
While this story hasn’t hurt the mythology and mystique surrounding motorcycle clubs, here’s how the original terms came about:

“These terms are a hangover from post-World War II (WWII) and don’t actually refer to involvement in criminal activity, as many people believe.

The term “outlaw motorcycle club” originated in the USA soon after the end of WWII when groups of mainly ex-servicemen formed small clubs. These clubs were not affiliated with the American Motorcycle Association and were often banned or “outlawed” from competing in sanctioned AMA events - especially if they refused to remove their club colours or emblems.

The term “1%” came about after the secretary of the AMA, Linton Kuchler, penned the phrase: ‘These cyclists were possibly one per cent of the total number of motorcyclists, one per cent of motorcyclists who are hoodlums or trouble makers”. This was in response to wildly exaggerated media reports after an AMA event near Hollister, California over the 4th of July week-end in 1947.

In the first half of the 1900s, the AMA considered itself to be the leader of the motorcycling world. Its main focus was to sell American motorcycles and it was dominated by a conservative faction from Harley Davidson. It is easy to see why groups of young men who were more interested in having fun than following the strict competition rules tended to upset the AMA. These clubs accepted the “outlaw” and “one per cent” tags, as it separated them from the AMA-controlled clubs. It also fitted with the growing tendency of their generation to rebel against the conservative ways of their parents.

These tags have stuck and, to this day, certain motorcycle clubs still use this terminology to indicate that they are outside the mainstream. No implication of crime or violence was ever intended in these terms.” — United Motorcycle Council of New South Wales

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MYTH
In another work of fiction, which is becoming all too common in this publication, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported on Friday 17 July that the Gold Coast Bike Week was under threat “thanks to outlaw bikie gangs [sic]“. The article said that “organisers blame the ‘public and government concern’ over outlaw motorcycle gangs [sic] for the event’s downfall”. The reporter quotes anonymous “insiders” reporting that acts of violence had occurred at the event in the past.
TRUTH - Posted 18/7/09
Actually, organisers blame licensing and permit authorities and police red tape for the event’s downfall. They said so in a written statement that the Gold Coast Bulletin took and twisted to create the beat-up above. In fact, motorcycle clubs and the United Motorcycle Council had been working co-operatively with the event organisers to ensure that the participation of “outlaw” clubs at the event was limited, and that participants agreed to a code of conduct. Despite the best efforts of organisers and clubs, the Queensland Police Service demanded $85,000 for a police presence at the event - an amount three times that required in previous years. This cost made the event uneconomical and forced organisers to look elsewhere for a venue.

Further, the information provided by the anonymous insiders, if they exist, is blatantly inaccurate, as the event has a trouble-free record.

The journalist who published this story has a history of attacking the legitimate, lawful activities of motorcycle clubs, with the result being public misinformation and fear. The UMC wonders how long the Gold Coast Bulletin will allow this blatantly inaccurate reporting to go on before taking action against this staff member.

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MYTH
Melbourne’s Herald-Sun claimed on May 7, 2009 that the Hells Angels used a blowtorch to remove a tattoo of a former club member.
TRUTH
Victoria police say there was no evidence of any such injury to the man when he was arrested a short time later. ABC’s Media Watch exposed this lie. See below link for transcript & video: transcript & Video - http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s2567124.htm

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MYTH
On April 23, 2009, a number of Queensland media organisations accepted without question police claims that “outlaw motorcycle gang members” had been arrested in a series of raids across Australia.
TRUTH
Queensland and federal police have so far been unable to substantiate these claims or confirm the involvement of any club members. The ABC’s Stateline program was one of the few media organisations that questioned the sweeping assertions made by police.

See Stateline transcript: http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/qld/content/2006/s2552313.htm

See Stateline video: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2009/04/28/2554568.htm

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MYTH
Home & Away actor Jodi Gordon was found in the home  of a “Rebels bikie”, “alleged bikie” or “suspected bikie”.
TRUTH
The person named in these media reports was not a member of the Rebels or, in fact, any of the 17 other clubs in the United Motorcycle Council. We understand this unsubstantiated information may have been released to the media by police sources, and we suspect it gained credibility by being reported and repeated as fact.

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MYTH
Police issued this media statement on July 3 saying that someone they had charged was “believed” to be “an associate” of someone in a “motorcycle gang”.
QUESTIONS
This one is a mystery to us. However, if this information had been probed, it would have raised awkward questions such as:

   1. Is the named “motorcycle gang” actually active in Sydney as a motorcycle club? As far as the UMC is concerned it is not a recognised motorcycle club and is not known to be an active, actual motorcycle club in New South Wales.
   2. Is the person actually, directly associated with any recognised motorcycle club? Not that we know of. So, probably not.
   3. Was the suspect riding a motorcycle at the time of the incident? Actually, no. They were allegedly in a limousine. Which makes us wonder why the reference to motorcycle clubs in the first line is even relevant.
   4. Who is the motorcycle club member this person is allegedly associated with? The police don’t have to say, so we just have to take their word for it.

If the information sent out by the police had been balanced and fair, it would have said that “an alleged associate of an alleged member of an alleged motorcycle club that is not known to be active in Sydney was arrested on various charges after a traffic accident that was completely unrelated to any motorcycling activity”.

But that’s not really a good story if you’re looking to incite fear about motorcycle clubs, is it?

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MYTH
Motorcycle clubs are criminal organisations that support and profit from crime.
TRUTH
Contrary to popular opinion, motorcycle clubs do not support violence, do not endorse violence, and do not exist for the purposes of conducting criminal activities. In fact, we realise that violent, criminal activities conducted by individuals have the ability to damage the lifestyle and reputation of every legitimate member of motorcycle clubs. We’re not going to pretend that there aren’t members of our clubs with criminal records, but that is something you could say of almost any social organisation.

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MYTH
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a jail visit may have sparked a shooting. The following excerpt is from the article published on page 2 of the SMH, 23rd June 2009 (Read the full article here)

“Sources have indicated that a visit to Silverwater jail by Mr Ibrahim and the Comanchero, and a subsequent argument, may have been the spark that led to the shooting.

According to one crime source, the pair started yelling at each other in front of prison guards and other visitors. “[The Comanchero] was saying, ‘It’s on, between you and me’,” the source said.”
TRUTH - Posted 23/6/09
The Sydney Morning Herald issued a correction on June 24, 2009 acknowledging that the reported facts were not accurate. The UMC responded with the following letter to the editor on June 24:

Dear Editor,

Your article detailing a supposed jail argument between Fadi Ibrahim and “a well known Comanchero” (SMH, June 23) was certainly eye-catching. What a shame you didn’t give them same prominence to the following day’s correction, which admitted the premise of the entire story was false.

In just a couple of short sentences, the Herald admitted that there was no jail visit, and therefore no argument between the two men.

The correction was welcome, but the damage was already done.

This was yet another example of the media being willing to believe – and print – unsubstantiated claims about motorcycle clubs and their members.

The problem with this approach is not only that it adds to false public perceptions of motorcycle riders and clubs, but also that it has the potential to create fresh and unnecessary tensions in the community.

We hope this non-incident will make quality media outlets such as the SMH think more carefully before accepting baseless claims against motorcycle club members in the future.

The United Motorcycle Council of New South Wales

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June 21, 2009

The Gold Coast Bulletin’s Robyn Wuth published a piece in response to the release of the UMC’s Reporting Guide for Journalists. The article was never published online so there is no online link, however the United Motorcycle Council responded to the article with the following letter to the editor.

Dear Editor,

Your article ‘Guide for journalists a laugh a minute as bikies cry foul’ (Bulletin, June 20) amply demonstrates the need for more balanced reporting of issues relating to motorcycle clubs.

The journalist makes no attempt to hide her pre-conceptions and prejudices on the subject, and simply repeats the same, tired stereotypes that she has printed on these pages many times in the past.

Any person who expects her to apply the normal journalistic courtesies – accuracy, fairness, balance and so on – can “bugger off” if they happen to ride a motorbike and belong to a club.

The UMC’s “reporting guide” was developed to encourage further understanding of the language, culture and context of motorcycle clubs and to decrease the amount of misinformation – much of it circulated by the likes of your journalist in this article.

The writer concludes that bikies should be treated “just like any other member of society”. We agree wholeheartedly. If only that was the case, there would be no problem.

However, the guide was produced because journalists such as the author of this article refuse to extend to motorcycle riders the basic standards of journalism that are applied to every other group of citizens.

Our guide was an effort to make motorcycle clubs more transparent and accessible to the media, and to contribute to a greater level of understanding and more accurate reporting. You can snigger all you like at that.

The United Motorcycle Council of New South Wales