State’s apology over horrific hate crimes

The NSW Government has apologised after an inquiry investigating unsolved suspected hate crime deaths of people who were members of the LGBTIQ+ communities found authorities failed to act appropriately.

A Special Commission of Inquiry into Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) Hate Crimes was established to look into deaths that occurred over four decades.

The inquiry led by commissioner John Sackar found NSW Government authorities failed to adequately respond to the deaths between 1970 and 2010.

The state government has agreed to implement all 19 recommendations made by the inquiry in a 3500 page report.

The NSW Government said it was unacceptable that investigations were not consistently handled with professionalism, fairness, respect, and compassion.

“For this, we apologise unreservedly to victims, survivors, loved ones, and LGBTIQ+ communities,” a statement issued by the government reads.

“We acknowledge that in some instances NSW law enforcement and justice agencies have failed to adequately identify, investigate, and prosecute violent crimes that were, or may have been, motivated by bias based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and for that we are deeply sorry.

“There has been a tragic history of homophobic and transphobic hate, and sadly the need for such an inquiry.”

The NSW Police Force has established Taskforce Atlas to implement recommendations from the inquiry, which will work with a LGBTIQ+ consultative committee.

The Unsolved Homicide Squad will apply for fresh inquests into the deaths of five men, corrections have also been made to the death certificates of five other people.

The police also agreed to monitor databases to match the profiles of unidentified males whose DNA was located at crime scenes.

The spokesperson said they knew that these apologies would not remedy the discrimination of the past.

“We offer our assurance that we will not repeat these failings,” the spokesperson said.