Bikers United Against Child Abuse officially launched their Canberra chapter yesterday at the Legislative Assembly. They pledged to lend their financial and physical support to fight the growing incidence of child abuse around the country.
Spokesman Michael Tharme said the group, now with chapters in every capital city except Hobart and Darwin, had been kicked into being after reading in the media "of yet another case of child abuse".
"There are about 550 reports [of abuse] in Australia every day – about every three minutes a child is abused somewhere. We love our motorbikes, but we also love our kids and decided something had to be done," Mr Tharme said "Bikers might look big, dirty and ugly, but most of these guys are family men."
He said the group would raise money through events such as charity collections and local rides, and would also lend help to Barnardos, the group which will be handling the money raised by the bikers.
But Mr Tharme said the philosophy of protecting children did not extend to vigilante action against known abusers or those suspected of abusing. "That's for the police, not us," he said, emphasising the group's core actions as fund-raising and assisting Barnardos and the children.
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