A Western Sydney councillor has doubled down on Cumberland’s blanket ban on same-sex parenting books from local libraries despite the policy breaching the state’s library act and possibly contravening anti-discrimination laws.
At a meeting last week, former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou successfully passed the amendment that the council take “immediate action” to “rid” same-sex parent books and materials from its eight council-run libraries.
During the meeting, Christou brandished a book he alleged had received “really disturbing” constituent complaints, saying parents were “distraught” to see the book, Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, displayed on a shelf in the children’s section of the library.
He has since confirmed publicly he has not read the book which explores the experience of having two mums or two dads and features two men and a young child on the front cover.
Christou told Guardian Australia it was “very disgraceful” the state government was threatening to pull funding from the shire, adding Cumberland was one of the most “socially disadvantaged communities in New South Wales”.
“They paid to paint buses for Mardi Gras but because a democratically elected council makes a decision in the interest they feel is representing the views of their community we’re now being threatened,” he said.
“I’m urging all residents to contact their four Labor state MPs saying ‘we expect you to fight for us and defend us’.”
Christou claimed the feedback he had received from his community was “overwhelmingly in support” of the ban.
A petition to rescind the ban, started by local resident Caroline Staples, has received almost 10,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. The petition, hosted by Equality Australia, will be presented to council next week.
In February, Cumberland council passed a motion in front of a 300-strong crowd banning drag queen storytime events, in a move seconded by Christou and critiqued by the current mayor.
“I’m committed to upholding the view of residents … this isn’t the end of the matter. We’ll see where it lands,” Christou said.
New South Wales arts minister John Graham on Wednesday wrote to the council advising it the ban contravened the state’s laws that set out guidelines for freedom of access to information from libraries.
In the letter, seen by Guardian Australia, Graham noted libraries in Cumberland received $743,130 in government funding last year and asked that the council reconsider the ban “with haste”.
After sending the letter, Graham said the government was “examining the consequences” the decision may have for the council continuing to receive library funding from the state government.
“The more time local councillors spend acting as self-appointed censors, the less time they have to focus on services people really need, like their bins being picked up and potholes filled,” he said.
The motion passed 6-5 with the backing of Labor councillor Mohamad Hussein, who broke ranks with his party to vote in favour of the ban in a move condemned by NSW Labor minister Rose Jackson.
Hussein said he stood by his decision which was made in line with his religious beliefs and “not targeted at anyone or groups”.
“I will not be comprising those beliefs,” he said.
Other local residents have come out in swinging opposition, including award-winning poet Omar Sakr.
“I cannot wait to vote them [the supporting councillors] out,” he posted on X.
Staples, who moved to Lidcombe with her husband in 1985 and has raised a “rainbow family” in the area, said the ban made her “terrified” for the safety of LGBTQ+ community members.
“I’ve cried a few times because I don’t know if I can bring my grandchildren to this library when it says they don’t exist,” she said. “I fear for families living here.”
Staples said she backed threats from NSW Labor for council funding to be cut – adding “public money has to be accountable”.
She said Christou’s comments that the area had conservative beliefs and “wasn’t Marrickville or Newtown” didn’t represent her community but represented “some people and their fears”.
“Councillors have characterised my community in a way I haven’t experienced – a stereotype of western Sydney.
“I’ve walked these streets, been on the sidelines of football matches, had children educated here.”
Greystanes resident Tori-Alice Girdhage said she and her wife and other LGBTQ+ parents in the area were “outraged” by the council’s decision.
“I’d spent the morning with my six-month-old and my three-year-old daughter at Wentworthville Library, so I was utterly devastated, to be honest,” she said.
“I can’t fathom how this has happened because it’s just going like 200 steps backwards … [Christou’s] religious and personal beliefs don’t belong in government funded public libraries.”
Darcy Byrne, the mayor of the Inner West, which encompasses Marrickville and Newtown, said accusations from Christou were “pathetic”.
“Banning books is something we would expect to see in Putin’s Russia, not modern, inclusive Sydney,” he said.
Bryne said the Inner West council had been targeted in recent months by people “seeking to disrupt and cancel a range of our LGBTIQIA+ events including drag story times events”.
“We will not back down in the face of intimidation from such a small minority or bigoted reactionaries.”
