In an inquiry into suspected LGBT hate deaths in NSW between 1970 and 2010, shocking revelations emerged regarding a secret strike force established by the NSW police in 2015. The strike force, known as Strike Force Neiwand, investigated several deaths, including three men who died in the 1980s, and effectively reversed coronial findings over suspected gay-hate deaths without speaking to any persons of interest. The inquiry also heard that NSW police internally reversed the decision of the coroner in each case, without pursuing any suspects.
The strike force’s reinvestigation found that other means of death were “more likely” in each case and concluded in 2017 that each should be treated as “inactive” and “not to be revived” unless new information came to light. Deputy state coroner Jacqueline Milledge, who sat for a lengthy period and heard from many witnesses, made findings in 2003 that two of the men were victims of gay hate-related homicides. It was revealed that Milledge was never informed of the strike force’s conclusion, and NSW police conceded that she should have been notified “as a courtesy perhaps.”
Mick Willing, who commanded the homicide squad between 2011 and 2017, gave evidence at the inquiry and agreed that the cases weren’t “closed” but were “made inactive.” He further admitted that coroner Milledge’s findings were, in effect, reversed. The commissioner, Justice John Sackar, commented that it was “pretty breathtaking” that NSW police reversed the decision of the coroner without speaking to any persons of interest. The inquiry continues to investigate suspected LGBT hate deaths in NSW between 1970 and 2010.
