The special commission of inquiry into NSW LGBTIQ hate crimes held its final public hearing on Tuesday, just over a year after it began.
Over the course of the year, it has examined 32 unsolved deaths between 1970 and 2010 and explored various factors that impacted the lives of LGBTI people during that time.
However, it wasn’t an easy task according to senior counsel assisting Peter Gray, SC, due to the police force’s relationship with the inquiry.
“From the perspective of the special commission, the attitude of the NSW Police Force has sometimes appeared overly defensive, even adversarial,” Gray said.
This included several statements by police where the force asserted that homicide investigations and reviews were stalled due to the inquiry.
“You were obliged to point out, in a public hearing on 5 December last year, that such an accusation was both ‘offensive’ and ‘entirely without foundation’,” Gray said of NSW Police.
Despite the nature of the police attitudes, Gray told the community that it could be satisfied that the commission “shone a light on everything that is known and can be found out about what happened”.
Of particular note were two cold cases, which are now all but solved due to the work of the inquiry. A 1993 murder of Crispin Dye revealed new DNA evidence that resulted in the identification of another male, who had not been identified at the time. That man is now deceased.
Another murder, that of Ernest Head in 1976, is also believed to have been solved. Initially, it was not ruled a gay hate crime. But the commission found a number of reasons to believe that it was. The case was again matched to a previously unidentified male who left Australia in 1994 and is now also deceased.
Leading LGBTQ health organisation ACON commended the conclusion of the inquiry and expressed its gratitude to all who contributed.
“ACON extends our heartfelt thanks to every individual from and outside of our communities who demonstrated immense courage in coming forward to share their experiences and provide testimony.”
The commission’s final report, due on December 15, is expected to make a number of recommendations to ensure crimes committed against members of the LGBTIQ community are thoroughly investigated.
“The conclusion of the inquiry marks a pivotal moment, but it is not the end of our shared mission,” ACON said. “ACON looks forward to reviewing the inquiry’s final report and the government’s response when they are released to the public in a timely manner.
“We hope that the government will commit to implementing the report’s recommendations in full.”
Gay Sydney News reporter