Chris Minns Urges NSW Parliament To Pass Violence Against Gay Teenagers Bill

NSW Premier Chris Minns has called on the Legislative Council to pass the Violence Against Gay Teenagers Bill, during Question Time in Parliament on Tuesday.

Responding to a question from the Member for Coogee Marjorie O’Neill about barriers to the bill’s passage, Minns referred to recent reports of violent assaults on LGBTQIA+ people through dating apps.

He told Parliament that victims were “lured under false pretences and then violently assaulted and robbed by offenders reportedly influenced by extremist ideologies,” with some incidents recorded and shared online.

“They were lured to these locations using gay dating apps on mobile phones, and then brutally, brutally assaulted and victimised by those who perpetuated these attacks,” Minns said.

He also cited reporting from Four Corners, including a case involving a 16-year-old referred to by the pseudonym “James”, who was assaulted in Sydney’s Strathfield Park.

Describing the incidents, Minns said: “He screamed as a pack of black-clad teens dragged him to the ground, stomped on his head, while an attacker filmed the entire incident on his phone.”

He said another video showed a teenager being assaulted in a toilet block, adding he would not repeat all of the alleged language used in the attacks “as there are children in the audience today”.

“It’s a truly horrifying, horrifying example of attack, attacked violence on vulnerable teenagers,” he said.

Minns outlined a series of legislative measures introduced by the government, including expanded crime offences carrying an additional two years’ imprisonment where serious assaults are filmed and disseminated, a new offence for procuring victims through false representations with a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, and an aggravated offence under section 93Z carrying up to seven years’ imprisonment where public acts result in violence.

He said the measures were intended to send “a clear and unambiguous message that this violence will never be tolerated in New South Wales.”

However, Minns told Parliament the bill had been delayed in the Legislative Council, saying: “This bill and 28 other Government bills have not passed the Legislative Council.”

He criticised the pace of legislative progress, stating that in 2026 “just 13 bills have passed the parliament,” compared with 96 in 2024 and 86 in 2025.

Minns also claimed the bill had been held up for 28 days, and argued it should be prioritised over other matters currently before the Upper House.

“This bill must be passed, it’s urgent legislation,” he said.

This come afters reports of “parliamentary rebellion” in the Upper House, with the Legislative Council suspending Penny Sharpe for 14 days, following a breakdown in negotiations over the release of documents ordered by the chamber.