It is not as if the Bill is uncontroversial. In fact, it cloaks daggers aimed at the heart of the rule of law. For example, once this law is passed, a citizen's liberty will potentially be affected not just by what they did, or what they belonged to at the time of an alleged offence. Freedom is now to be threatened if a person is or at any time has been a member of a relevant organisation. It is sickening to think that the language of Joseph McCarthy is now part of the Law of Queensland. And remember, “organisations” are not limited to groups of “bikies”.

It is just wrong to change someone's status in the eyes of the law because of something they did long ago, back when that something was perfectly legal. At any given time, the law must be certain. All citizens are entitled to know the laws that apply to them on any given day, and not to have their conduct condemned years after the event.

It is sheer folly to claim that such a change can ever be justified because of an “emergency”. An executive government that thinks it can legislate retrospectively is a government for which anything is possible, because it can provide its own definition of “emergency”. If it thinks it can legislate retrospectively, there is nothing to stop it from removing long-standing pension entitlements because of a financial “emergency”, or retrospectively invalidating a well-established planning law because of a housing “emergency”.

It is hard to see how the fact that someone belonged to a motorcycle club 40 years ago could create a sense of panic in anyone. It is actually doubtful whether the majority of Queenslanders were feeling any sense of “emergency” that could justify a law like this. But a different sort of problem does now confront us, as it does any society that allows legislation of this kind.

Retrospective legislation is condemned by every civilised nation in the world. These countries hold to the values expressed in Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a Covenant supported by most countries on the planet. However, there is a short list of places in the world – such as North Korea – where the beliefs that underpin that Covenant are clearly not valued.