NSW government refuses to release secret hate speech report
Penry Buckley
The NSW government has knocked back an attempt to compel it to release a secret report into controversial hate speech protections in the state which it has been sitting on for several months.
The report was commissioned last year after the introduction of an offence for inciting hatred on the grounds of race, against Law Reform Commission advice it would “introduce imprecision and subjectivity into the criminal law”.
The six-month review, authored by former supreme court justice John Sackar, was asked to look into expanding the offence to cover religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, was tabled in November.
The premier, Chris Minns, has said the government will not release it until the cabinet has made a policy decision, amid growing speculation about what the report contains.
But last month the NSW upper house passed a unanimous motion, unopposed by Labor, under a procedure known as atanding order 52 (SO52), which requires the government to release documents. It called for the tabling of the report, and documents relating to its creation, as well as any legal advice given to the government about whether it was required to release the report.
Late yesterday afternoon, on the day a response was due, the government returned a five-page document, containing five letters from senior public servants and chiefs of staff in the premier’s, attorney general and police minister’s offices, all of them certifying that “no documents covered by the terms of the resolution and lawfully required to be provided are held by The Cabinet Office or the Premier’s Department”.
Key events
Angus Taylor to make statement to nation in ABC broadcast on Wednesday night
Tom McIlroy
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, will speak to the country on Thursday night, a day after an address from Anthony Albanese.
Despite criticising the prime minister for wasting time on Wednesday night, the Liberal leader will be broadcast at 7pm, with a statement about the war in Iran and the global energy crisis.
The ABC will broadcast the message.
Taylor said on Thursday that Albanese’s address “could have been a social media post”. He criticised the lack of detail, urging the prime minister to give Australians confidence and certainty in the weeks and months ahead.
Australia to join talks with 35 countries to explore ways to reopen strait of Hormuz
As we mentioned earlier, Richard Marles confirmed Australia will join talks convened by the United Kingdom to explore ways to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
You can read more about that meeting, expected to take place at about 10pm AEDT tonight, here:
‘We have listened’ to patients of former gynaecologist under investigation, Victorian health minister says
The federal and Victorian governments say they have listened to patients of former gynaecologist Simon Gordon, helping them access tailored assistance to navigate the health system.
Their experiences are currently the subject of multiple investigations, after an ABC Four Corners investigation revealed allegations Gordon performed unnecessary operations to remove endometriosis.
Gordon maintains he always acted ethically, telling the ABC he “never performed surgery to treat endometriosis or any other condition unless I was absolutely convinced it was in the patient’s best interest and to improve their overall quality of life”.
The federal government has responded with a $7.45m package, which includes funding Victorian Primary Health Networks to establish Care Navigators. These navigators will deliver individualised care coordination, acting as a central point of contact to help women navigate follow-up care, specialist reviews and other healthcare supports through a network of local GPs.
The Victorian government is also investing $2m to deliver complementary, additional tertiary specialist endometriosis support services to the women affected at five health services.
Victorian minister for health, Mary-Anne Thomas, said:
We have listened to these women who are hurting – making sure they are supported to get the care they need.
Penry Buckley
Failure to release hate speech report ‘a blow to marginalised communities’, NSW Greens say
The Greens LBTQIA+ spokesperson, Amanda Cohn, who introduced the motion to order the government to release the review, says refusal to release the report is “a blow to marginalised communities”.
While we are considering further changes to hate crime laws in parliament, it’s troubling that the NSW government refuses to share an independent review it commissioned into the very issues we are debating. A cynic might wonder whether the findings don’t align with the government’s approach.
The Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, says:
After he received the Sackar review, the attorney general [Michael Daley] has introduced a number of significant bills making wide-ranging changes to criminal laws concerning protest, prohibited symbols, Nazis and hate crimes. He is demanding the parliament legislate on these issues without the benefit of the review and advice about the soundness of these laws.
A spokesperson for Daley said the government “continues to consider the Sackar review”. Cohn says she will seek to challenge the government’s decision when state parliament sits again in May.
NSW government refuses to release secret hate speech report
Penry Buckley
The NSW government has knocked back an attempt to compel it to release a secret report into controversial hate speech protections in the state which it has been sitting on for several months.
The report was commissioned last year after the introduction of an offence for inciting hatred on the grounds of race, against Law Reform Commission advice it would “introduce imprecision and subjectivity into the criminal law”.
The six-month review, authored by former supreme court justice John Sackar, was asked to look into expanding the offence to cover religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, was tabled in November.
The premier, Chris Minns, has said the government will not release it until the cabinet has made a policy decision, amid growing speculation about what the report contains.
But last month the NSW upper house passed a unanimous motion, unopposed by Labor, under a procedure known as atanding order 52 (SO52), which requires the government to release documents. It called for the tabling of the report, and documents relating to its creation, as well as any legal advice given to the government about whether it was required to release the report.
Late yesterday afternoon, on the day a response was due, the government returned a five-page document, containing five letters from senior public servants and chiefs of staff in the premier’s, attorney general and police minister’s offices, all of them certifying that “no documents covered by the terms of the resolution and lawfully required to be provided are held by The Cabinet Office or the Premier’s Department”.
Young adults’ sunburn rates not improving
Fewer people are getting sunburnt in NSW, with the exception of young adults whose rates show no improvement, new data shows.
The Cancer Institute NSW’s Sun Protection Behaviours Report, released today, showed one in 10 adults (10%) reported being sunburnt at least once in the four-week period before they were surveyed in 2024, down from almost 15% from the previous report.
However, there was no improvement from the previous report in the number of young adults, aged 18-24 years, getting sunburnt, with around one in five (18.5%) reporting a recent sunburn.
The same age group were also less likely to protect themselves by behaviours such as wearing protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses.
The report also provided insights on sun exposure, finding around four in 10 adults surveyed were frequently exposed to the sun from 11am-3pm, when UV levels are highest, yet only around 40% used three or more forms of sun protection.
CSIRO warns of mouse plague risk after rapid rise in rodent numbers
Mouse populations are reaching plague proportions across Australia’s key cropping zones, with scientists warning farmers to remain on high alert, AAP reports.
CSIRO research points to concerning mouse numbers in paddocks stretching from Geraldton to Esperance in Western Australia.
Monitoring zones have also recorded increased numbers across South Australia’s Adelaide Plains, Yorke Peninsula and Eyre Peninsula, along with parts of southern Queensland.
Wimmera farmer and Grain Producers Australia research and development spokesperson Andrew Weidemann has urged farmers to be prepared to bait for mice at sowing time in autumn.
Australia should ‘seriously consider’ US requests for help to open strait of Hormuz, Taylor says
Taylor also says Australia should “seriously consider” any request made to help the US in opening up the strait of Hormuz.
I certainly support supporting the US alliance, supporting the United States in opening up the strait of Hormuz. What we don’t know is what requests have been made to the Australian government. We should seriously consider any request that has been made.
Angus Taylor accuses government of lack of clarity on fuel crisis
Taylor, speaking to the Today Show earlier this morning, also accused the goverment of failing to provide clarity on the fuel crisis.
What we need is to know where the fuel is in the supply chain, where the gaps are, what the government is doing to fill them and is it unable to fill those gaps. We’re not getting that clarity, we’re not getting that transparency.
Taylor says the Coalition provided such clarity during the AdBlue crisis.
Taylor points out that with state leader Roger Cook declaring a state of emergency for Western Australia, “it’s not clear whether the federal government is leading here or the state hovernment”.
It’s extremely confused and we’re getting now responses from state premiers which are muddying the waters on where we’re going with all of this.
Improvements for Aṉangu behind changes to 99-year lease on Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa
Douglas Smith
The traditional owners of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa national park and the federal government have agreed to vary the park’s 99-year lease, creating more jobs and projects to support local communities.
As part of the new lease, full-time employment targets for Aṉangu at the park are now required to reach 50% by 2030. Aṉangu businesses will also receive more help to win contracts.
Since 2013, the Central Land Council (CLC) has helped traditional owners negotiate the latest agreement with Parks Australia. The agreement aims to help with the extreme cost of living out bush and invest in community-driven development projects.
Since 2006, the CLC says it has supported traditional owners of the park and their communities in the cross-border region of Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia to use income from the park for Aṉangu education initiatives, recreational facilities, homeland infrastructure and other projects.
In that time, traditional owners have invested almost $21m in 102 projects in their communities, many of them multi-year initiatives.
The new agreement will also deliver “stronger protection for sacred sites and songlines”, CLC chief executive Les Turner said.
He said:
[There will be] tougher consequences for damage and more robust joint management principles informed by tjukurpa [pronounced JU-kurr-pa].
That may mean accepting guidance from Aṉangu about where and when to undertake traditional burning or when to close the park for cultural reasons.
Turner said Parks Australia also agreed to recognise the traditional owners’ cultural and intellectual property, such as songs, dances, stories and cultural knowledge, and to seek their explicit permission to use it.
