‘We have seen such hatred and division’: The case for a NSW human rights act

NSW Labor is facing pressure from crossbench MPs and 120 groups, including the Bar Association, to investigate whether the state needs a human rights act, amid concerns tinkering to antisemitism and LGBTQ hate laws are “Band-Aid solutions”.

The push coincides with the Minns government introducing new criminal offences and increased penalties for gay hate crimes to parliament after a surge in homophobic attacks on gay and bisexual men in Sydney. Reported incidents have involved attackers luring men through dating apps, with the assaults often filmed for social media.

Crossbenchers including Greens and independent MPs Jacqui Scruby, Alex Greenwich, Joe McGirr, Michael Regan and Greg Piper have jointly written to Premier Chris Minns urging Labor to back a public inquiry into the Human Rights Act introduced by Newtown MP Jenny Leong last year.

“In a time where we have seen such hatred and such division in our community, it is clear that we need to stop offering Band-Aid, ad hoc solutions to the level of crisis that our communities face,” Leong said.

“A human rights act for NSW would be an incredibly powerful tool to deliver the kind of justice, equality, dignity and respect that our community is crying out for.”

Unlike Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, NSW does not have a human rights act. The legislation would require the parliament to consider how laws impact human rights, and would give courts the ability assess if laws are compatible with human rights standards.

A 2024 inquiry in South Australia recommended an act be legislated, but the state’s Labor government has not made any moves to do so.

Minns went to the 2023 election with a commitment to undertake community consultation into possible legislation to protect human rights, but is yet to act on this commitment.

Former Labor premier Bob Carr last year relented on his long-held opposition to a human rights act, saying he would not oppose a state-based act given current challenges to civil liberties. His shift was seen as significant, and a signal to the broader Labor movement that it was time to rethink its position.

The government is currently in discussions with Leong about a potential inquiry, but is yet to make any announcements.

Labor upper house MP Stephen Lawrence, who has taken opposing views to the premier on protest laws and hate speech crackdowns, said on Tuesday some reforms introduced by the government may have looked different if a human rights act had been in place

“In the last three years in parliament … it’s difficult to see all that’s occurred and not come to the view that we desperately need a human rights act,” Lawrence said.

“If we had a human rights act when the terrible events occurred Bondi, the anti-protest legislation was passed afterwards. It is very difficult, in my view, to imagine that we as a parliament would have passed that exact same bill.”

The government has now introduced new legislation to crackdown on homophobic attacks primarily against gay and bisexual men after reporting by the Herald and more recently the ABC exposed a worrying trend in attacks being shared on social media.

A new offence will be created for offenders who lure their victims on false pretences to offend against them, including through dating apps. “Post and boast” offences, targeting offenders who brag about their crimes on social media, will be expanded to cover serious assaults and robberies, including those committed against the LGBTQ community.

Threatening or inciting violence on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender will come with a maximum five-year prison sentence, up from three.

NSW Attorney General Michael Daley received a key report into hate speech protections for vulnerable communities by Justice John Sackar four months ago, but is yet to make the report public or announce the government’s response.

Greenwich, who strongly supports the reforms to protect the LGBTQ community, said the government must release the Sackar report.

“We need to see that document, and we need to make sure that legislative reform is informed by that,” Greenwich said.

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