The New South Wales Legislative Assembly Committee on Law and Safety has released its final report on the inquiry into measures to combat right-wing extremism in the state.
Committee Chair, Labor MP Edmond Atalla, highlights the inquiry was launched following a neo-Nazi rally held on the steps of NSW Parliament in November last year.
“Shocking as this was, it was not an isolated incident. NSW and Australia more broadly has seen
increasing right-wing extremist violence and hate in recent years,” Atalla wrote in his foreword.
“This report sets out the danger that right-wing extremism poses to the people of NSW and makes a number of recommendations to address this threat.”
The inquiry found that “Right-wing extremism poses a threat to all NSW communities.” Noting that it is rooted in white supremacy and antisemitism, right-wing extremism poses a particular threat to LGBTIQA+ communities, alongside ethnic and religious minorities and women.
The report also acknowledges right-wing extremism actively promotes forms of hate including antisemitism, racism, islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny – encouraging these beliefs to become part of mainstream political discourse.
The final report makes 12 recommendations to combat right-wing extremism in New South Wales. Among the recommendations are funding community reporting services for hate crimes experiences by LGBTIQ+ people and other targeted communities; strengthening efforts to address online extremist content, including its removal and the impact of algorithmic amplification; introducing and improving school-based education programs that address discrimination; and expanding coordinated approaches to prevention, including regional and rural communities.
National LGBTIQA+ advocacy group Equality Australia has welcomed the recommendations, saying the inquiry makes it clear that LGBTIQ+ people are deliberately targeted in these narratives.
“It also recognises that addressing extremism requires more than law enforcement,” said Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown.
“It must include action on the social drivers that enable it.”
The report emphasises that prevention and early intervention are critical to addressing the rise of extremism in NSW, alongside stronger community-based responses.
“We were pleased to see our submissions reflected in the report, and LGBTIQ+ people explicitly recognised among communities targeted by hate and extremism,” Brown said.
“This is an important acknowledgement of the scale and impact of anti-LGBTIQ+ hate within broader extremist activity in NSW.
“The NSW Government must act to ensure that LGBTIQ+ people and other targeted communities are safer, better supported and no longer exposed to preventable harm.”
Brown warns that the alarming rise in often violent, targeted attacks against LGBTIQ+ people are driven by a dangerous and deeply entrenched form of hatred.
“These recommendations reflect a clear understanding that hate and extremism are driven by broader systems of discrimination and exclusion. They must now be implemented in full.”
“This is not an issue that affects only one community. When hate goes unchecked, it undermines safety, cohesion and trust for everyone.”
