In a chaotic meeting full of fiery outbursts and heckling, Cumberland Council overturned its controversial ban of same-sex parenting literature in local libraries.
A heavy police presence, a group of opposing protestors, allegations of death threats and interjections of “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” – the divisive meeting saw the local Council once again in the spotlight as Councillors, residents and those from broader Sydney debated the ban for over four hours.
During public forum, 13 people spoke against the ban, including long-term resident Caroline Staples.
She presented a petition that had been signed by over 41,000 people who urged for the ban to be overturned.
Speaking to the Chamber, Staples called for one thing – kindness.
“This ban does nothing to protect children or support our families in Cumberland. On the contrary, it causes hurt and it causes harm,” she said.
“As a grandmother of a rainbow family it says to me that a mere image of my daughter, her wife and my grandchildren is so dangerous that it cannot be on public display or it must be hidden away in the adult section of the library.
“If you want to erase or destroy a people you try and take away their stories, their music, their poems and their thoughts.”
Two people also spoke in favour of the ban during public forum – including One Nation’s Craig Kelly.
“Normally I would be here and I would be strongly against censorship, but there is one exception and that exception is when it comes to children,” Kelly said.
“It should be the parent’s choice, if this book was in the general section I’m sure very few of us would be here tonight.
“This ban should continue in the children’s section, but if it were to be put in the general library I’m sure that most of us would agree to that.”
Throughout the meeting Mayor Lisa Lake had to continuously ask people in the public gallery to leave for a five minute break over jeers and comments that were made to other members of the public and Councillors.
Multiple Councillors on both sides of the debate said they had received death threats.
A motion was eventually put forward to rescind the decision to ban same-sex parenting books from the local libraries.
Kun Huang, who moved the motion, called on his colleagues to “reverse the wrong” that was made at the last Council meeting.
“In Cumberland, no one should be discriminated against based on race, religion or sexual orientation,” he said.
“No children should be made to feel like they do not belong, unfortunately at the last Council meeting, we, as the local representatives, selectively let our community down.
“We have tarnished the Cumberland Council’s name and caused hurt and harm to many members of the Cumberland community”
However, Councillor Steve Christou, who championed the ban, slammed the rescission motion.
“This is not an attack on gay and same sex couples, what we’re saying is address the concerns of local residents and place the book in the adult section in the library,” he continued.
“I will never apologise for representing the views of local residents who approach me, that is my job, that is my responsibility, and Australia would be a better place if more elected representatives actually took on the views and opinions of its local constituents.”
“I’m personally very disappointed in some of my colleagues tonight.”
Council confirmed the same-sex parenting book that Christou claimed he found in the children’s section of the library, which ultimately led to the ban, had only been rented out once since it was first introduced to the library.
When the motion to rescind the ban was finally put to a vote it passed with 12 votes to two.
The Councillors who voted to rescind the book ban were Huang, Sabrin Farooqui, Diane Colman, Suman Saha, Ola Hamed, Glen Elmore and Lake.
Councillors Mohamad Hussein, Paul Garrard, Helen Hughes, Greg Cummings and Michael Zaiter, who all originally voted in favour of the ban, changed sides to support the new motion.
Only Christou and Councillor Eddy Sarkis voted for the ban to remain.
Councillor Joseph Rahme was absent from the meeting.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.