Hate Crime Legislation

We, the undersigned residents of Tasmania, draw the House's attention to the tragic death of a young Indian man, Deepinderjeet Singh, who was pushed into the Princes Wharf on 29th January 2024 by a group of young people. Mr Singh was a diligent university student and a conscientious employee and is sadly missed.

Tasmanians have noticed an increase in race related offending against migrant businesses, taxi drivers and individuals including physical assault and attacks and damage to property.

Police are often reticent to record racial (or other) hatred as a motivation for offending because there are no corresponding offences that recognise racial or other hatred as a motivating factor.

Your petitioners request the House:

• Amend the Youth Justice Act, the Criminal Code, the Police Offences Act and the Sentencing Act, so that when people are charged with offences and hatred was a factor in that offending, that offenders can be charged with offences that recognise that motivation.
• Call on the Government to reform the youth justice system to move away from incarceration in favour of mandatory education and mentoring programs designed specifically to hold young people accountable for their offending, while providing opportunities for them to get off the path of offending. This should include specifically tailored therapeutic programs that focus on long term solutions.
• Call on the Government to implement a system that allows police to identify and record hateful motivation for offending (race, homophobia, disability etc), in a straightforward and consistent way.