Rebels bikie spokesman has Brisbane tattoo business shut down by police

Queensland police have shut down the tattoo business of high-profile Rebels member and bikie spokesman "Little" Mick Kosenko in north Brisbane.

The move comes just weeks after a promise by the Palaszczuk Government to overhaul Queensland's controversial suite of bikie laws introduced under the previous Newman LNP administration, with recommendations for tattoo licensing changes supported by police.

Mr Kosenko has been a vocal opponent of the laws and has appeared frequently in the media as a spokesman for bikie lobby group the United Motorcycle Council of Queensland.

A tattooist for more than 30 years, he helped draw up earlier legislation on health and safety standards in the industry.

The Rebels, one of the longest-established "outlaw" bikie clubs in Australia, has been the subject of investigations across Australia by police and other law enforcement agencies with many of its members prosecuted for serious offences.

The Rebels are on a list of 26 "criminal organisations" determined by police whose members are subject to strict anti-association laws in Queensland.

Its veteran national president, Alex Vella, has been stranded in his native Malta since the Immigration Department withdrew his Australian visa in 2014.

Mr Kosenko, however, has no criminal record.

Photo UMCQ spokesman Mick Kosenko (right) has regularly appeared in the media to speak out against Queensland's bikie laws.

ABC News: Dave Lewis

Under the existing legislation, Police Commissioner Ian Stewart can instruct the Queensland Office of Fair Trading to deny a tattooist's licence on the basis of a "adverse security determination" but the applicant is not allowed to know the reasons.

The QPS declined to answer questions about why Mr Kosenko's application had been denied, except to say that applicant checks "involve security determinations on the applicant's close associates, not just the applicant themselves".

The QPS would not say why it had only now issued the determination, two years after Mr Kosenko applied for the licence.

A review of the laws by a taskforce including police and led by former Supreme Court Justice Alan Wilson this month recommended police be required to provide details of reasons for rejecting licence applications and a rethink of what makes a person unfit to work in the industry.

Similar recommendations were made in relation to the liquor, security and tow truck industries, which are also covered by the laws.

Mr Kosenko has appealed the decision but was on Friday denied a stay on the rejection of his tattoo licence application.

"I've already spent $10,000 fighting this already and I haven't got any money in the bank. I'm going to have to sell my house to keep fighting this," he said.

A spokesman for Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath told the ABC: "The Palaszczuk Government has committed to thoroughly and rigorously working through the recommendations of the Taskforce report into Organised Crime legislation.

"That process will include recommendations relating to specific industry licensing including the tattoo industry."