The original motion was moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Kok.
It is
resolved that:
(A) Council note:
(i)
the
City of Sydney values and respects the range of identities, perspectives,
experiences and lifestyles of our community, including those from
multi-cultural backgrounds, different religions, all ages, people with
disability, people with diverse gender identities, LGBTIQA+ communities and
those who have experiences of advantage or disadvantage;
(ii)
everyone
has the right to feel safe in our City;
(iii)
under
the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, Section 20C, it is unlawful for a person,
by a public act, to incite hatred towards, serious contempt for, or severe
ridicule of, a person or group of persons on the ground of the race of the
person or members of the group and on the basis of homosexuality, transgender
status, and HIV/AIDS vilification;
(iv)
there
are also criminal protections in section 93Z of the Crimes Act 1900 which
address protections for matters of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender
identity, intersex status and HIV/AIDS status;
(v)
under
the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, Section 2B, in this division, public act
includes:
(a)
any
form of communication to the public, including speaking, writing, printing,
displaying notices, broadcasting, telecasting, screening and playing of tapes
or other recorded material;
(a)
any
conduct (not being a form of communication referred to in (a)) observable by
the public, including actions and gestures and the wearing or display of
clothing, signs, flags, emblems and insignia; and
(b)
the
distribution or dissemination of any matter to the public with knowledge that
the matter promotes or expresses hatred towards, serious contempt for, or
severe ridicule of, a person or group of persons on the grounds of the race of
the person or members of the group;
(vi) under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977,
and according to the Anti- Discrimination Guidelines for Local Councils, legal
responsibility for unlawful discrimination committed by, or on behalf of, the
Council usually rests with Council itself;
(vii)
City
staff have analysed the available data and estimate that there have been 25
incidents of hate-speech graffiti in 2023/24 out of a total of 2,771 (nine
months to 31 March), occurring within the boundaries of the City of Sydney,
compared to 53 for 2022/23 (12 months to 30 June) out of a total of 4,371;
(viii)
currently,
reporting hate graffiti for removal to Council goes through the same process as
reporting any other graffiti or posters/bills through the ‘report illegal
graffiti’ online form;
(ix)
community
members are advised through this process, Council will complete graffiti
removal in up to two business days and offensive or hateful graffiti will be
‘prioritised’. The reporting party is asked whether the graffiti is hateful or
offensive and they must explain why it is offensive;
(x)
the
City’s Graffiti Management Policy and maintenance program enables the City to
remove particularly offensive graffiti within four hours of it being reported
to the City, requires priority zones with high pedestrian counts to be
inspected every 24 hours, and that graffiti in City-managed parks and open
spaces is removed within 24 hours; and
(xi)
the
removal process of graffiti is work carried out by City of Sydney contractors;
and
(B) the Chief Executive Officer be requested
to:
(i)
review
the City’s existing process and policy for reporting and removing graffiti that
is hateful, discriminates, vilifies or is offensive; and
(ii)
investigate
how the process can be improved including:
(a)
ensuring
community members making reports of hate-speech receive a response indicating
the Council takes discrimination very seriously and will urgently respond;
(b)
confirming
that new key performance indicators (KPIs) for contractors employed by the City
of Sydney, are in line with Council’s legal and moral obligations to uphold
anti-discrimination laws; and
(c)
consulting
with all relevant stakeholders and City of Sydney inclusion groups prior to
finalising updated reporting and graffiti removal mechanisms;
(iii) ensure City staff continue to action reports
of discriminatory graffiti immediately on receiving them and communicate with
the community when such graffiti is cleared; and
(iv) report back to Council via CEO Update with
progress of new reporting and graffiti removal mechanisms.
The amended motion was carried unanimously.
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