新南威尔士州独立议员Alex Greenwich宣布将继续推动扩大仇恨言论法的保护范围，尽管劳工党政府已拒绝采纳前法官John Sackar的特别调查报告建议。[1]Sackar的157页报告指出，现行法律形成了"分级、两层保护模式"，对社会凝聚力造成伤害，并建议所有群体获得平等的法律保护。[1]劳工党政府在周二正式拒绝了报告提出的重新平衡仇恨言论法以实现平等保护的关键建议。[1]
Greenwich计划在下次选举前推出一套改革方案，与Sackar的建议保持一致，范围涵盖LGBTQ群体、宗教人士和残疾人士的保护。[1]现状是，劳工党在2024年修改的93ZAA条款仅针对基于种族原因的仇恨煽动进行规范，而现有的93Z法律则保护基于种族、宗教和性取向的群体。[1]这一分化的法律框架引发了广泛关注——平等澳大利亚法律主任Heather Corkhill表示该决定将使LGBTQ人群"暴露于伤害中"，[1]新南威尔士大学法学教授Rosalind Dixon则指出Sackar报告提出了"具有说服力的论证，即应在民事和刑事诬蔑处理中保持平等"。[1]
New South Wales independent MP Alex Greenwich has vowed to advance reforms expanding hate speech protections after the state's Labor government rejected key recommendations from a judicial inquiry into antisemitism.[1] The government declined on Tuesday to adopt suggestions from a 157-page special report by former judge John Sackar, which found that current legislation creates a "tiered, two-tier system of protection" that undermines social cohesion.[1]
Greenwich intends to develop a reform package aligned with Sackar's recommendations before the next election, extending protections to LGBTQ people, religious groups, and people with disabilities.[1] The Labor government's 2024 amendments to section 93ZAA narrowed hate speech provisions to only racial incitement, while the existing section 93Z law protects those targeted based on race, religion, and sexual orientation.[1] Sackar's report argued that all groups should receive equal legal protection under hate speech law, a position Greenwich is now determined to advance independently of government backing.
The rejection has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates. Heather Corkhill, director of Equal Australia, warned that the decision will leave LGBTQ people "exposed to harm,"[1] while UNSW law professor Rosalind Dixon noted that Sackar's report presented "compelling arguments that equality should be maintained in civil and criminal defamation handling."[1]