Media release
For immediate release 26 February 2019
Dowson Turco Lawyers (DTL) welcomes the interim report of the NSW Parliamentary Committee inquiring into gay and transgender hate crimes between 1970 and 2010 in NSW.
The report outlines the interim findings of our parliament and confirms that a “prevailing acceptance of, and indifference towards, violence and hostility directed at gay men, principally during the period prior to the mid-1990s, impacted on the protection of and delivery of justice to victims of hate crimes.”
Nicholas Stewart, partner at DTL, who led the LGBTI community’s push for this inquiry said, “Dowson Turco is grateful for the investment of the NSW Parliament in this issue. We are now making progress on justice for victims of LGBT hate crimes in NSW and I want to thank our community partners, ACON NSW and the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, as well as our pro bono client, Alan Rosendale, for helping to shine a light on this dark period of our history.”
DTL endorses the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendations, but maintains the view that a judicial commission of inquiry with broad powers to compel witnesses to give evidence is required to bring about justice for victims.
The full report can be accessed on the NSW Parliament’s website here.
Media Contact: Matt Mitchell
P: 0431 980 365 E: matt@hiredgunmedia.com.au