Politicians slam ban on same-sex parenting books

Cumberland City Council in western Sydney passed an immediate blanket ban on same-sex parenting books in its council-run libraries as councillor Steve Christou cited calls from "distraught" members of the public.

NSW Arts minister John Graham said banning books was a bad sign for civilisations and that local councillors should not be engaging in censorship.

"We are examining the consequences this decision may have for the council continuing to receive library funding from the NSW government," he said.

A lesbian couple with two children in the Cumberland catchment, Tori-Alice and Angela, said they didn't "understand how this could happen in 2024".

The couple said they had not faced discrimination within their multicultural suburb but that the ban was "bringing back the emotions and the feelings of the plebiscite and the effect that had on the community".

"By removing those books, it's telling children that queer families don't exist and they don't exist in this particular geographical location, which is just outrageous because we're here," Tori-Alice said.

"We exist, we have children and we go to those libraries and we are a part of the community. We pay our council rates and do everything that everybody else does."

Federal Wentworth MP Allegra Spender called the move a "shameful attempt to erase the experience of LGBTQ Australians" on May 8.

"We should be celebrating the diversity of our country, not censoring it," she said.

Councillor Christou alleged he had received "disturbing" complaints from constituents about Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig being on shelves in children's sections of the libraries.

"We're going to make it clear tonight that these kind of books, same-sex parents books, don't find their way to our kids," councillor Christou said at the council meeting in early May.

"Our kids shouldn't be sexualised," he said.

The vote passed with six councillors in favour, five against and four not present.

A number of state and federal politicians have criticised the council's move with MP Alex Greenwich saying "library books don't cause harm but bigots do".

NSW minister for youth and mental health Rose Jackson responded to the ban saying "gay [and] lesbian families exist everywhere in NSW. Book bans should exist nowhere".

"Stop being weirdly obsessed with how other [people] live their private lives and thinking you look tough punching down on minorities," she said on X.

"Don't like the books? Don't read them."

Federal Brisbane MP Stephen Bates said the ban was a "shameless move" from Cumberland City Council.

"We cannot go down the path of the United States in banning books that mention or talk about LGBTQIA+ people under the guise of some fake 'war on wokeness'," he said.

A Change.org petition to reverse the decision has gathered 912 of the target of 1000 signatures in less than a day.