The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes delivered its final report right before Christmas.
Established in April 2022, the inquiry delved into 34 unsolved murders that took place in Sydney between the years 1970 and 2010, 25 of which were thought to be gay hate crimes.
Nineteen-Seventies Greater Sydney, especially the inner city and the Northern Beaches, was a notorious region for violent gay hate crimes, which, at times, saw a bashings either intentionally or recklessly eventuate into the criminal offence of murder, with the NSW Police Force little concerned about LGBTIQ deaths.
Inquiry head NSW Supreme Court Justice John Sackar recommended that fresh inquests be held into four of the historical incidents, in light of evidence heard and the determination his Honour made, as many of these suspect deaths were treated as accidents or suicides back in their day.
