新南威尔士州政府驳回了司法官约翰·萨卡尔(Justice John Sackar)领导的独立调查提出的建议。该调查报告共157页，建议将仇恨言论法的保护范围从现有的种族属性扩大到宗教、性取向和性别认同等其他属性。[1]
萨卡尔在报告中指出："提交意见和咨询会议表明，一些社群感到被排斥，因为第93ZAA条款仅适用于种族，而不适用于第93Z条款涵盖的其他受保护属性。"[1]
州政府律师长迈克尔·戴利(Michael Daley)表示，扩大种族诋毁罪的范围"涉及关于言论自由、宗教自由和刑法一致适用的复杂问题"。[1]政府维持现有法律框架，仅针对种族属性提供保护。
萨卡尔于11月5日提交了调查报告，但政府在数月内未公开该报告，直至本周二才同时发布报告及驳回声明。这项决定是在政府去年2月通过法律将种族诋毁定为犯罪之后做出的。[1]
The New South Wales government has declined to adopt the findings of an independent judicial inquiry into hate speech legislation, refusing to broaden protections beyond racial hatred.[1] The 157-page report, led by Justice John Sackar and submitted on November 5, was withheld from public view for months before the government released it alongside a formal rejection statement on Tuesday.[1]
The inquiry recommended extending the racial hatred offense under law to cover additional protected attributes including religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity, bringing them into parity with existing racial protections.[1] Sackar wrote in the report that "submissions and consultation meetings made it clear that some community groups feel excluded because section 93ZAA applies only to race and not to other protected attributes covered by section 93Z."[1] However, Attorney-General Michael Daley countered that "expanding the racial hatred offence to cover other attributes raises complex questions about freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and the consistent application of the criminal law."[1] The government's decision to maintain the existing framework—which criminalized racial vilification following legislation passed in February of the previous year—prioritizes these concerns over the inquiry's recommendations for comprehensive protection.[1]