The one question the NSW premier refuses to answer

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has dodged repeated questions about whether Parliament should apologise to men who were criminalised by the state for being gay. 

Numerous emails, phone calls and texts to media advisers in the premier’s office over the past six days have gone unanswered, even as one of Perrottet’s cabinet colleagues has backed the idea of apologising. 

The NSW opposition leader and several crossbench parties have also said the Parliament should issue a formal apology to the dozens of men who were punished for the historical crime of consensual gay sex. 

Animal Justice Party MP Mark Pearson, one of several gay members of the NSW Parliament, slammed the premier for his silence. 

“It was once considered to be a crime to be gay in NSW, until 1984,” he told Crikey. “So I was considered a criminal by the state of NSW for the first 25 years of my life, potentially leading to imprisonment and the associated torment and degradation.

“So if a premier who so ‘tearfully’ apologised for mocking a historic genocide at a birthday party can’t apologise for this absurd cruel history — then we have no hope of intelligent compassionate governance under his watch.”

Greens MP Jenny Leong said her party supported the idea of a bipartisan apology and said words needed to be backed up by action. 

“The power of an apology for wrongs done in the past around issues of discrimination and human rights is a strong way to demonstrate that society has moved on,” she said. “That said, we need to recognise there are current laws that cause day-to-day harm on young gender-diverse and queer people in our schools and workplaces.” 

Leong mentioned religious exemptions to anti-discrimination legislation that allows schools and small businesses to “discriminate on account on sexuality and gender”. 

Labor Leader Chris Minns “would be willing to work across the next Parliament on an apology”.

“In our recent history, the treatment of gay men through our laws has been unfair and caused serious harm,” he said. “NSW has recognised some of the harm done through the apology to the 78ers, and Labor supported the laws that were passed to allow people convicted to have those convictions extinguished.”

The Australian reported last week that at least 29 men had convictions for historical offences extinguished after laws making that possible were introduced in 2014.

Liberal Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes told Crikey last week the Parliament should “of course” apologise: “Of course, of course … I think that’s a terrible thing, to face punishment for who you are. That’s a terrible thing, and personally I’m very sorry.” 

But when asked if he would tell the premier to apologise, Stokes demurred: “That’s a matter for him. I can only apologise in my capacity, and I’m very sorry that occurred.”

Crikey first contacted the premier’s office about the matter last Thursday. The email went unanswered, and since then his office has dodged a number of follow-up emails, phone calls and text messages to various advisers. 

NSW government MPs apologised in Parliament to the marchers at Sydney’s first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in 1978 who were violently arrested. At the time the marchers’ names and addresses were published in The Sydney Morning Herald, a decision the newspaper apologised for in 2016.

Bruce Notley-Smith, the former Liberal MP who delivered the apology to the Mardi Gras protesters, told The Australian the criminalisation of homosexual men had created a lasting trauma for many: “People are still living with the trauma of all those years ago and it ruined a lot of people’s lives.”

Notley-Smith was the first gay member of the NSW lower house and designed the laws extinguishing the historical convictions.

On Friday Perrottet vowed to back an independent proposal for a ban on gay conversion practices.

“There is no room for any harmful practices in NSW, particularly if they affect our young and vulnerable,” he said.