We're bikers, not bikies, stress Ulysses members

We're bikers, not bikies, stress Ulysses members

This was published 14 years ago
We're bikers, not bikies, stress Ulysses members

ByChris Barrett
April 8, 2009 

The national executive of the Ulysses club has told concerned members that the ramifications of anti-bikie laws on the country's largest motorcycling group will be minimal.

As police ramp up their assault on bikie gangs in New South Wales following legislative reforms poised to be mirrored in Queensland by mid-year, Ulysses riders say they have been mistaken for their patch-wearing outlaw counterparts.

Denis Paulin, the national vice-president of Ulysses, said several riders from the national over-40s motorcycle enthusiasts group had been mistakenly picked up by NSW police since the police crackdown in the state began.

However, he said, police were well aware of the difference between bikie and Ulysses club members.

"They were riding without distinction and were picked up by police," Mr Paulin said.



"But once the police realised who they were... saw their identification... they let them go."

Mr Paulin said he and national president Kim Kennerson had fronted a branch meeting of the club in the Hunter Valley last night where they continued to allay concerns from members that they may be unfairly targeted with the inception of anti-bikie legislation.

The laws, already in place in South Australia and New South Wales and being drafted in Queensland, effectively make it illegal to associate with or be a member of a bikie gang if that club is involved in criminal activity.

"We've got some members who are elderly and they are concerned," Mr Paulin said.

"There are some people out there who will see a bike and they might think `that's a bikie' but we think the public are a bit smarter than that.

"We don't think we've got a problem. The police know who we are. Even if we do get pulled over it's not going to be carried on with."

The Ulysses club has a former NSW police commissioner, Tony Lauer, within its ranks, while former federal opposition leader Brendan Nelson is another of the most high-profile among the 29,000-plus membership.

Many Ulysses riders carry identification stickers or number plates on the front of their motorcycles to distinguish them from bikies but Mr Paulin conceded that some rode the streets with no particular sign of Ulysses membership on display.

It was the showing of their club affiliation that led to a tete-a-tete with the Rebels in 2005.

The outlaw gang then threatened Ulysses members with violence when the veteran riders club converged on Canberra - Rebels territory - for their annual general meeting with some wearing badges around the Ulysses logo that gave the appearance of a bikie patch or "colours" as they are known.

The Ulysses club agreed to direct members not to wear the second badge in rare meetings with the Rebels.

"They're just not our sort of people," Mr Paulin said.

RELATED ARTICLE

Bikie birthday bash on hold

"We've had some contact with them when they were giving us a hard time back in Canberra.

"Our president visited their president and sorted it out."