Qld police urged to stop VLAD campaign

A senior Queensland police officer has sparked controversy by campaigning for the state government to keep its controversial anti-bikie laws.

Superintendent Jim Keogh on Wednesday appeared on The Courier-Mail's front page warning of a turf war between the Finks, Mongols and Hells Angels gangs on the Gold Coast if the government repealed its Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) legislation.

Supt Keogh's comments come as the Queensland Taskforce on Organised Crime Legislation, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Alan Wilson, prepares to hand down a review of the laws to Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath on Thursday.

The Queensland Council of Civil Liberties has urged Police Minister Bill Byrne to direct Commissioner Ian Stewart to stop his senior officers overtly campaigning in favour of the laws.

"Mr Stewart should have learnt from the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era that police have no role in arguing for or against particular pieces of legislation, particularly contentious legislation," QCCL vice-president Terry O'Gorman said.

Mr O'Gorman insisted there had been a "just below the surface" police campaign for months, but Mr Keogh's comments have made the stance "directly overt".

Mr Keogh, who once led the Gold Coast gang crackdown, said bikie gangs were waiting to reclaim their turf if the laws were weakened.

"Surfers Paradise was always the Finks turf, but they're going to face a fight for it if the bikies return to the Coast," Supt Keogh told the paper.

"It is important to remember the way things were, it was mayhem on the streets, the tough laws were what had to happen."

Opposition police spokesman Jarrod Bleijie, who was the architect of the laws when he was attorney-general, said Supt Keogh's comments were indicative of the police and wider community's support for the legislation, which has driven bikies out of the state and reduced crime.

"Now it's an extraordinary situation where you have a serving police officer who feels it necessary to go public against the government policy of (Premier) Annastacia Palaszczuk in terms of watering down and getting rid of the VLAD legislation," Mr Bleijie said.

"I've never seen that quite before."

Mr Bleijie said he had no doubt the task force would recommend the VLAD laws be watered down, particularly given its narrow terms of reference and Justice Wilson's opposition to mandatory sentencing.

Ms D'Ath has already indicated the government won't publicly release the report when it is received on Thursday, instead waiting until after a cabinet meeting on Monday.