<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/15/hate-is-not-a-family-value-protesters-clash-as-sydney-council-considers-rescinding-same-sex-parenting-book-ban>
"A controversial ban on same-sex parenting books at libraries in part of
western Sydney has been overturned at a marathon late-night meeting after large
crowds of protesters clashed outside the council chambers.
Cumberland city councillors voted 13-2 in front of a crowded public gallery on
Wednesday night to revoke the ban, two weeks after it was introduced.
The council’s u-turn followed a widespread backlash and a warning from the NSW
government that Cumberland risked losing its library funding.
Councillors narrowly voted on 1 May to “take immediate action to rid same-sex
parents books/materials in council’s library service”.
During that meeting, the councillor who put forward the motion, former mayor
Steve Christou, brandished a book he alleged had received “really disturbing”
constituent complaints, saying parents were “distraught” to see the book,
A
Focus On: Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, displayed on a shelf in the
children’s section of the library.
At Wednesday’s fiery meeting, Christou attempted to have same-sex parenting
books restricted to the adults’ section of the library. When that failed, his
Our Local Community party colleague Paul Garrard tried to have the same
restriction placed just on Duhig’s book.
Ultimately, all but two councillors supported a motion put forward by Labor’s
Kun Huang to reverse the ban and ensure all books were catalogued according to
national library guidelines, including having Duhig’s book in the junior
non-fiction section.
Eddy Sarkis was the only councillor who supported Christou.
Labor councillor Mohamad Hussein, who had voted for the ban originally, changed
his vote at the last minute. Hussein declined to comment when asked by
journalists why he had changed his mind."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
