The NSW government announced on Tuesday it would not implement the key recommendation of a hate speech protection review it had refused to release for months.
Former NSW Supreme Court judge John Sackar undertook the review into hate crime laws commissioned by the government in February 2025 after a spate of anti-Semitic graffiti and arson attacks.
Mr Sackar recommended the offence be expanded to include other attributes to stop perceptions of a "hierarchical, two-tier model of protection".
Those attributes include race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, HIV/AIDS status and disability.
But Attorney-General Michael Daley said the government was knocking back the suggestion.
"The government's view is expanding the racial hatred offence to cover other attributes raises complex questions about freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and the consistent application of the criminal law across the community," he said on Tuesday.
That position was deemed an "insult" by several sexual minority groups who said it made queer people vulnerable without necessary protections.
"The way this government has delayed the release of this review, refused to meaningfully engage with the findings, and is now trying to sweep it under the rug, is an insult to the entire LGBTQI community," said Jackie Turner of Trans Justice Project.
Equality Australia said the government was "disingenuous" in its reasoning and the uptick in anti-queer hatred necessitated a more pro-active legislative response.
"The Sackar Review could not have been clearer - NSW's hate speech laws need to protect all communities vulnerable to hate, not just some," the group's legal director Heather Corkhill said.
The government had previously failed to respond to a parliamentary order initiated by Greens MP Amanda Cohn in March compelling the release of the 151-page report, which was finalised in November 2025.
Dr Cohn accused the government of "kicking the can down the road on critical matters of safety and inclusion".
"It's extraordinary it took sustained pressure from parliament to force the government to finally release this important report, after months of secrecy, while marginalised communities continue to experience worsening hatred and division," Dr Cohn said on Tuesday.
Mr Sackar previously chaired an inquiry into LGBTQI hate crimes in NSW dating as far back as the 1970s, finding police failed to properly investigate potential homophobic attacks.
The government said it would continue to consider other recommendations made in the report alongside recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion.
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