Landmark inquiry into gay hate crimes in NSW concludes

In 2022, an 18-month state inquiry in NSW was established to investigate unsolved deaths that occurred between 1970 and 2010 where the victim was same-sex attracted (LGB) or transgender-identified. Most of the victims identified were gay or bisexual men.

Led by commissioner John Sackar, the state inquiry sought to establish whether the deaths had been motivated by homophobia - otherwise known as a hate crime.

The inquiry involved a team of independent barristers, solicitors and investigators examining more than 150,000 documents drawn from 40 years of police files, coronial files, and other sources in relation to hate-related deaths for LGB or transgender-identifying inddividuals.

The deaths of 32 people, 24 of which were identified by police strike force Parrabell and eight by the commission, were examined in the inquiry.

The conclusions of the report, presented today on 14th November, suggested that 14 of the 22 unsolved deaths were homicides, with a further 6 classed as suspected homicides. All 20 deaths suggested prejudice towards gay people had been a motivating factor.

The report also sought to examine whether police bias and indifference towards violence towards gay people affected how the cases were investigated. Hearings revealed poor record-keeping practices by police with multiple examples of crucial evidence being lost, destroyed or misplaced over the years.

Senior counsel assisting the commission, Peter Gray, stated, “Those gaps in the records and exhibits were very damaging from the point of view of the efforts of the special commission to re-investigate such cases”.

Gray said despite police publicly stating their support for the inquiry, the actions of NSW police over the past 18 months were "not easy to reconcile".

He stated, "A reasonable observer might have thought those positions and stances often gave the appearance of a defensive if not adversarial mindset. If so, that would indicate an unfortunate missed opportunity on the part of the NSW police force."

Gray provided a final address on the report, as well as a number of recommendations. Many of the proposed recommendations around investigative practices have already been adopted and endorsed by NSW police.

Recommendations included a systematic and regular review of all unsolved homicide cases and a reappraisal of existing procedures and resources in the unsolved homicide team. As the inquiry revealed the majority of investigated deaths were a result of hate crimes, LGB Alliance Australia support the need for this suggestion.

An additional recommendation was for police to undertake additional mandatory training around the “LGBTQ+” community, developed with input from representatives and advocacy organisations. Although we support training that increases awareness and sensitivity towards our community, we do have practical questions relating to what this training would look like. As gay and bisexual men were the primary victims of hate crime related homicides, awareness should be focused on those who are most vulnerable to targets of violence, although other groups may also be impacted.

A final report will be handed to the state’s governor by 14th December. Given the findings of the NSW inquiry, we hope that other states pursue similar inquiries and reform practices.