The NSW government will support all nineteen public recommendations of the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes, saying this will honour the victims and victim-survivors whose pain was brought to light through the process.
The government said its decision to support all of the inquiry’s public recommendations was made after carefully considering its almost 3500-page report, which was released nearly nine months ago.
Led by Justice John Sackar and launched in April 2022, the inquiry examined unsolved deaths of LGBTIQ+ people between 1970 and 2010 that may have been hate crimes and were previously investigated by the NSW Police Force. It made 19 public recommendations, 15 of which were directed at police.
Released just before Christmas 2023, Sackar's report identified shortfalls in how NSW government authorities responded to these deaths and found that investigations were not consistently handled with professionalism, fairness, respect, and compassion.
The implementation of some of the nineteen recommendations is already under way, with police establishing Taskforce Atlas to oversee those related to the NSW Police.
So far, four of the nineteen recommendations have been implemented, including an update to the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the deaths examined in the inquiry, and for the police force to continue monitoring DNA databases to identify an unknown male connected to one of the deaths.
Two of the other completed recommendations were for the police to establish a taskforce to oversee the implementation of the inquiry and to make an application for a fresh inquest should any new reviews contradict previous Coroner's findings.
The government said action on other recommendations is under way or will be implemented following further planning or technological advances.
Environment Minister and leader of the government in the Legislative Council Penny Sharpe said the inquiry, the events that led to it and those that will follow will be remembered as a crucial step in coming to terms with the role that the government played in the many tragedies examined.
“In previous decades, NSW Government institutions set a standard that not only stood by inequality
and injustice, but fostered, and at times participated in it," Sharpe said.
“We fundamentally failed the victims of these hate crimes and their families, and we can never let
that occur again.
“The dedicated and comprehensive work of the whole Inquiry team stands on the shoulders of the
efforts of many members of LGBTIQ+ communities, as well as the families and friends of victims –
for that we say thank you.”
Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the Inquiry made for "deeply difficult reading; a difficulty dwarfed by the lived experiences shared".
“Today is an important milestone in a long journey for victims, victim-survivors, advocates and allies who have suffered from these crimes," Catley said.
"We can’t change what has happened in the past, but we can and will do everything in our power to learn, evolve and prevent history from repeating itself.
“The Government response is another step in the pursuit of justice and the Government and NSW Police Force are actively working to implement [the] report’s recommendations in partnership with the LGBTIQ+ community.”
Eliot Hastie is a senior news producer at Channel Ten, reporting on a range of general stories, specialising in foreign affairs and LGBTQ+ stories. He’s also a reporter for Gay Sydney News, where he covers LGBTQIA+ culture, politics and nightlife. He previously helped to build and launch ausbiz, Australia's only live streaming finance news channel, where he was also an executive producer and host. He has previously worked as a finance and business journalist for publications including Fintech Business, Real Estate Business and other Momentum Media titles. Eliot holds a journalism degree from the University of Westminster and brings experience in both broadcast and digital reporting. Contact Eliot: [email protected]
