QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman is likening his crackdown on bikie gangs to Tony Fitzgerald's landmark inquiry into institutionalised corruption.
But Mr Fitzgerald is predictably angry at the comparison.
The government's tough new anti-bikie and sex offender laws were rushed through with minimal consultation and the former judge says it's foolhardy for politicians who lack expertise to make major changes without thinking through the consequences.
"The administration of criminal justice is not a political plaything or a suitable area for political grandstanding," said Mr Fitzgerald, whose inquiry led to the 1987 resignation of premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
The premier has spent the past fortnight defending the laws and is refusing to withdraw comments that judges should respond to the community's desire for protection.
"It is astonishingly short-sighted for a government to attack the judiciary in a bid to foster redneck support."
The new laws impose mandatory sentences on bikies and gives the government power to lock up dangerous sex offenders for life, bypassing the courts.
Mr Newman's comments caused Supreme Court Justice George Fryberg to put on hold a bid to revoke a bikie's bail on Thursday, saying the remarks could be perceived as an attempt to influence judges.
The premier tried to get the wider judiciary on board when he spoke in parliament.
He said the state's bikie problem was bigger than the systematic corruption exposed by Mr Fitzgerald.
"Undoubtedly it's far worse in my view," Mr Newman said.
"This is a time for us to all work together."
The opposition says the premier's comparison shouldn't fool anyone.
"The only comparison I can see between Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen and Campbell Newman is that neither of them understand the separation of powers," Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Ms Palaszczuk also called on Ken Levy, chair of the Crime and Misconduct Commission, to resign for publicly backing Mr Newman with an opinion piece that said the new laws reflected the will of Queenslanders.
"It is unprecedented for a chair of the CMC to support the government's agenda," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"He should be impartial, he should be independent, and he's clearly showing bias."
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