Bondi Memorial Project

Waverley Council and LGBTI health organisation ACON have reached another milestone in the Bondi Memorial Project after Council last night endorsed Tamarama’s Marks Park as the next site for the commissioning and installation of public art in the Waverley local government area.

Today’s announcement of a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into historic hate crimes committed against members of the NSW LGBTIQ community has been welcomed by ACON.

The NSW Police Force has released the final report into Strike Force Parrabell, which reviewed 88 deaths between 1976 and 2000, and focused on whether gay-hate bias were a factor in these deaths.

The NSW Police Force’s Strike Force Parrabell Report includes an academic review and case summaries. Of the 88 case reviewed, 63 were declared solved, 23 remain unsolved and 2 were not reviewed. Of the 86 cases reviewed, 27 cases were determined to have had evidence or suspected evidence of bias crime – 5 of which remain unsolved. A further 25 were found to have insufficient information to make a determination.

Today ACON welcomes, albeit with a great sense of sadness, the NSW State Corner’s finding that Scott Johnson was likely to have been murdered in a gay hate-related crime in Sydney in December 1988.

For close to three decades, the death of Scott Johnson has created great pain, anguish and anxiety for the Scott’s family. No family should be subjected to such uncertainty and scrutiny when their beliefs regarding the death of a loved one are challenged.

With SBS set to profile on Sunday the real story behind its Deep Water drama series, a campaign launched today to raise funds to produce a memorial artwork in Bondi to victims of the gay hate crimes on which the TV programs are based.

With SBS TV’s eagerly anticipated Deep Water drama series and documentary set to go to air this week, progress is being made in relation to a memorial artwork in Bondi to victims of the gay hate crimes on which the TV programs are based.

With SBS’s Deep Water programs bringing a dark chapter of NSW’s history into sharp focus over the next two weeks, local LGBTI* organisations are ramping up efforts to deliver justice for the victims of historic gay hate crimes.

A decision by Waverley Council to begin planning for the construction of a memorial to the victims of historical gay hate crimes has been welcomed by LGBTI* health, safety and rights advocates.