Editorial
In 2024, going to prison in NSW for being gay is an unthinkable concept. For many, though, the unthinkable was once a harsh reality.
Members of the original gay march, known as 78ers, at the apology by the NSW Legislative Chamber.Credit: Peter Rae
NSW courts recorded up to 1000 convictions a year before homosexuality was finally decriminalised in 1984. Along with fines and prison, many suffered the ignominy of court-endorsed “treatments” from electric shock and potent drugs to brain surgery to “cure” their homosexuality, all of which are now considered medical quackery.
Ahead of the 40th anniversary of decriminalisation next month, senior reporter Andrew Hornery has spent several weeks talking to some who found themselves on the wrong side of the law in NSW, and an overwhelming message came through: an apology from the NSW government is long overdue.
The Herald put that request to Premier Chris Minns late last week and by Friday, we were told the government would be more than willing to deliver an apology in parliament to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in our state.
“I know that to many, this apology will not remedy discrimination of the past, but I hope that it brings some semblance of closure to those that were unfairly targeted by laws of the day that criminalised gay and lesbian people for being who they are,” Minns told the Herald.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in NSW on June 8, 1984, a year after the first death attributed to HIV in Australia, and four years behind Victoria and nine years after South Australia became the first state to do so.
Daniel Andrews offered a similar apology in Victoria in 2016 and two years later, the then-NSW Police commissioner Mick Fuller apologised for police treatment of protestors arrested in a 1978 march that was the precursor to Sydney’s Mardi Gras. The Herald also apologised in 2016 for publishing names and addresses of those 78ers who had appeared before court.
Apologies are much more than a symbolic gesture. Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said over the weekend that our state had come a long way in 40 years. “There was a lot of harm along the way, but we now recognise that and are making amends for it,” she said. “I think it sends a really strong signal that everyone in our community is precious, and that everyone will be treated equally when they live in NSW.”
The Herald congratulates Minns for responding to the calls for an apology with such grace and common sense.
As the government plans the parliamentary apology, the Herald encourages it to finally reveal its response to the recommendations from a scathing inquiry into LGBTQ hate crimes conducted last year.
The world-first special commission of inquiry into the handling of dozens of deaths between 1970 and 2010 produced 19 recommendations, 15 of which were directed at police.
The inquiry into LGBTQ hate crimes was led by NSW Supreme Court Justice John Sackar. It examined 32 cases in detail and found reason to suspect LGBTQ bias was a factor in 25 of them.
A NSW Police taskforce has been reviewing specific recommendations but nothing has so far been formally adopted. Separately, the government has also been considering its response to the inquiry.
Action on this dark chapter in our state’s history would be a fitting complement to the recently announced parliamentary apology. Let’s get on with it.
The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
