Saturday Magazine

1 Mar 2026

Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Aiv Puglielli MP, Greens rep for Nth Eastern Metro, Hate Crimes Enquiry; Victorian Greens move to establish an inquiry into LGBTQIA+ hate crimes

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Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Aiv Puglielli MP, Greens rep for Nth Eastern Metro, Hate Crimes Enquiry; Victorian Greens move to establish an inquiry into LGBTQIA+ hate crimes

On the 18th of February 2026, the Victorian Greens will today move to establish a powerful parliamentary inquiry into the scale and scope of anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crimes across the state, following a disturbing string of attacks on gay and bi+ men.

This comes following a troubling string of attacks on gay and bi+ men which have seen them lured to public places through fake online dating profiles and violently attacked.

The inquiry, to be conducted by the Legal and Social Issues Committee, would examine how anti-LGBTQIA+ influencers and hate groups operate online, including far-right, misogynistic, and homophobic ‘alpha-male’ content, and explore strategies to protect young people from this influence.

It would also look at the adequacy of existing responses to preventing these crimes, and the support available to victim survivors.
The inquiry would examine ways to improve LGBTQIA+ community safety and support victim survivors of these and other hate crimes, as well as look into ways to combat anti-LGBTQI+ influence on young people particularly through hateful online content.

The Greens are urging all political parties to support the inquiry, which is due to report by 1 September 2026.

Quotes attributable to the Victorian Greens equality spokesperson, Aiv Puglielli:

“No one should have to fear for their safety because of who they love.

“We are seeing gay and bi+ men being lured to public places through fake online dating profiles and violently attacked just for being who they are. As a queer person, it is genuinely terrifying to see this terrifying escalation of violence towards my community happening before our eyes.

“This doesn’t come out of nowhere. We know there’s a “manosphere” of anti-queer influences and far-right “alpha-male” networks that are grooming and radicalising young men online, building these hate networks and fuelling this very real hatred and people are being seriously harmed.

“We can’t look the other way while LGBTQIA+ people are being harassed, threatened, and terrorised. Enough is enough. We need to get to the root of this.”

https://greens.org.au/vic/news/media-release/victorian-greens-move-establish-inquiry-lgbtqia-hate-crimes