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‘Not Marrickville or Newtown’: Sydney council bans same-sex parenting books
By Jessica McSweeney
A council in western Sydney has voted to “rid” its libraries of books that contain same-sex parenting material in a move that has outraged the mayor and local families.
The motion at Cumberland City Council was passed six votes to five, and prompted an angry NSW government to threaten a review of its library funding.
This book prompted complaints from parents, councillor Steve Christou said.
“When civilisations turn to burning books or banning books it is a very bad sign. That is equally true for local councils,” Arts Minister John Graham said.
The council, which includes the western Sydney suburbs of Auburn and Merrylands, met last Wednesday to vote on a new strategy for the eight council-run libraries.
During the debate, former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou put forward the amendment “that council take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in council’s library service”, while brandishing a picture of one book he said his constituents had complained about.
The book, title Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, is part of a series depicting diverse family structures for a younger audience. It features two men and a child on the front cover.
Cumberland councillor Steve Christou. Credit: Cumberland City Council
During the debate, Christou said Cumberland’s “religious and conservative” community didn’t want “controversial issues going against their beliefs indoctrinated into their libraries”.
“This is not Marrickville or Newtown, this is Cumberland City Council, and we need to respect the wishes of our residents,” he said during the debate.
Christou rejected suggestions the ban was discriminatory, but instead told the Herald that books concerning same-sex parenting were sexualising young children.
‘If it’s not a banned book then certainly there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be available … it’s certainly not a matter for us to censor.’
Cumberland mayor Lisa Lake
“Don’t open up our children to any form of sexualisation … Children are innocent and should be allowed to enjoy appropriate story reading time in their libraries without being burdened by issues of sexualisation,” he said.
Mayor Lisa Lake voted against the motion, and said it should not be up to local governments to decide which books parents allow their children to read.
“If it’s not a banned book then certainly there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be available to someone who may be seeking it through our libraries, and it’s certainly not a matter for us to censor,” Lake said.
“It’s not reflective of the principles that Cumberland City Council upholds generally in our community.”
NSW Arts Minister John Graham.Credit: Steven Siewert
Fellow councillor Diane Colman, who also opposed the ban, said she was concerned about the message it would send to families in the area.
The arts minister said it was up to readers to choose which book to pick up off the shelf. “It should not be up to local councillors to make that choice for them or engage in censorship,” Graham said.
“We are examining the consequences this decision may have for the council continuing to receive library funding from the NSW government.”
Local grandmother Caroline Staples worried rainbow families like hers could feel unwelcome in Cumberland.
“This community is incredibly diverse. A lot of people have come to live in this community to escape regimes that target them because of their race, their religion, or their sex or sexuality,” she said.
“What we want from our public libraries are a whole range of ideas, thoughts and materials that mean people can access things that are perhaps outside their experience so when they encounter people, they won’t believe the ugly, nasty stereotypes.”
Rainbow Families, an organisation which supports LGBTQ families in Australia, has noticed an increase in hate towards members and protests at events in the last 12 months.
Executive officer Ashley Scott said local families no longer feel accepted in their community.
“There seems to be support from local government at the moment across Sydney against our families, which is a move backwards for inclusion and diversity,” Scott said.
A spokesperson for Cumberland City Council did not say if the ban would include all books featuring same-sex parents, or just those aimed at children.
“Council has commenced the process of reviewing its collection with a view to determining those titles which would need to be considered for removal from library services in implementing this resolution,” the spokesperson said.
“Council welcomes everyone to our local government area and our libraries, irrespective of the materials available in our library collections.”
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