The 2024 Cumberland book ban was a controversial [1] fifteen-day ban of same-sex parenting books from the eight libraries in the Cumberland public library system in New South Wales. The ban was enacted by the Cumberland City Council on 1 May and was rescinded on 15 May. The ban led to a wider discussion of book censorship in Australian libraries. [2] [3]
During a Cumberland City Council meeting on 1 May 2024, councillor and former mayor Steve Christou requested that the motion "That Council adopt the 'Library Strategy 2024 - 2027' as outlined in Attachment 1 of this report" be amended with "subject to the following being undertaken: That Council take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in Council's library service". [4] [5] The amendment was made without prior communication with Cumberland Public Library staff. [6]
Christou, who had previously called for bans to drag storytime and Welcome to Countrys, [7] claimed to have received text messages from "distraught local parents" [8] who had found the book "Same-Sex Parents" by Holly Duhig in the junior non-fiction section. [5] Five copies of the book had been in Cumberland libraries since 2019. [9] Christou justified the motion by saying he was speaking for the Cumberland community. [10]
The vote passed, with six councillors (Christou, Paul Garrard, Helen Hughes, Greg Cummings, Michael Zaiter, and Mohamad Hussein) voting in favour of the ban and five councillors (Ken Huang, Diane Colman, Glenn Elmore, Kun Suman Saha and mayor Lisa Lake) voting against the ban. [11] Deputy Mayor Ola Hamed, abstained from the vote, saying she was a "longstanding advocate for social justice" but was concerned after receiving death threats after an earlier debate related to drag queen storytimes. [11] Four councillors were not present. [8]
Labor councillor Kun Huang announced the ban on social media, saying "This kind of censorship by politicians should have no place in Australia." [12]
A petition was created on 2 May by Cumberland resident Caroline Staples calling for the council to rescind the motion. [8] Staples had family members who were LGBT. [8] The plan to present the petition on 15 May. The petition gained over 10,000 signatures in 24 hours. By 15 May, the petition had over 40,000 signatures, though Christou said only 2400 of the signatories lived in Cumberland. [6]
Christou was mocked after he admitted that he had not read the book before banning it. [10] [13]
Sydney author Will Kostakis called the decision "a dangerous precident." [14]
NSW Arts Minister John Graham told the council that the ban could affect their funding and that it violated the freedom of access to information guidelines under the Library Act 1939 which states that materials "should not be excluded from a public library on moral, political, racial, religious, sexist, language, or other grounds" [15] and threatened that the council could risk its library funding. [7] Christou responded "If the government wants to take away funding from one of the most socially disadvantaged communities in NSW because their democratically elected council stood up for the values which they believe represents their local community, well shame on them." [7] Graham also criticised Christou after Christou admitted he had not read the book. [16]
NSW premier Chris Minns called the ban "ridiculous" and "a joke" [11] and suggested the move may have been timed because of an upcoming election. [17]
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne criticised the ban by saying "If someone as deliberately divisive as Councillor Steve Christou thinks the Inner West is too inclusive and respectful, we wear that as a badge of honour" [18] and called the vote "pathetic". [19]
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park disapproved of the ban, saying, "If we're going to have a council operate and start to become a censorship body, then we will have a look at the public funds that we provide them. I don't think it's a wise idea for a council to start censoring what their local residents and ratepayers choose to read or not." [7]
Labor MP Rose Jackson wrote on Twitter "Stop being weirdly obsessed with how other ppl live their private lives and thinking you look tough punching down on minorities. It's pathetic" [20]
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) released a statement on 8 May promoting freedom of information, and said they were "appalled" by the ban, and cited APLA-ALIA Standards and Guidelines for Australian Public Libraries, "public library collections should cover a wide range of popular topics, express a variety of viewpoints and cultural understandings, and represent a diversity of people, places, events, issues and ideas." [21] On 9 May, the CEO of ALIA Trish Hepworth met with ABC News and said that the ban was part of a trend of increasing attempts to ban books in libraries, following similar trends in the USA, particularly regarding LGBT content. [22] [23] ALIA later released a further statement saying they had pro-bono lawyers helping write to the Cumberland Council discussing legal concerns relating to the ban. [24]
The State Library of New South Wales made a statement supporting the Arts Minister and criticising Cumberland City Council's decision: "It's up to readers to choose what they want to read." [25] which the State Library of Queensland also supported. [26]
National and State Libraries Australasia released a statement discussing the importance of diversity in library collections and of libraries as "public spaces for discovery and access to information" and support of ALIAs initial statement. [27]
The Council of Australian University Librarians called on the council to reverse the decision, saying they were "deeply concerned." [28]
NSW Public Libraries Association president Romola Hollywood stated the Cumberland City Council's decision was against the Library Council of New South Wales guidelines for freedom of access to information as per the NSW Library Act 1939 and recognised "the important work that council-run public libraries across NSW undertake each and every day to provide opportunities for people of all backgrounds and identities to have the freedom to read and access information in safety and without judgment." [29]
Equality Australia representative Ghassan Kassisieh said "The council seems to be clinging to some kind of backward stereotype that people in Western Sydney are bigoted and can't decide for themselves what to borrow from the local library." [5]
Anti-Discrimination NSW president Helen McKenzie called the ban "a hurtful and divisive act which impacts them and their children". [9]
On 9 May, four Cumberland councillors, including Ken Huang, lodged a motion to "alter or rescind the resolution". [30] A second meeting was then scheduled for 15 May. On the day, the Merrylands Library closed early at 4pm as a safety precaution. [31]
People who registered to speak at the meeting included Staples, who led the petition, [31] and Cumberland librarian Julie Thomas, who criticised the council for making the decision without any communication with library staff. [31] Former MP Craig Kelly spoke in favour of free speech. [31] Lisa Lake threatened to remove members of the public in the gallery for continuously interrupting speakers. [31] Because of the lateness of the new proposal, the discussion of the ban was not until the end of the meeting in General Matters. [32]
The council debate lasted over four hours [15] before voting to reverse the ban just before 10.45pm. [31] The motion was passed with twelve members for, two against, and one absent. [15] Only Christou and Eddy Sarkis voted against reversing the ban. [6] Though Sarkis, who initially supported the ban, stated, "I read the book and have come to the conclusion that nothing sexualises children in this book". [33] [34] [35]
Huang put forth a motion to replace the previous amendment to Cumberland Council Library Strategy for 2024 to 2027 with one stating that all books should be catalogued by national library guidelines, which would include Duhig's book being in the junior section. After the motion to reverse the ban had passed, Christou put forward a motion to restrict same-sex parenting books to the adult section of the library, which failed. [6] Following this, Paul Garrard put forward a motion to have the restriction placed only on Duhig's book, which also failed. [6]
On 15 May, by 6pm, around 200 protesters from both sides had gathered at the council chambers – One side represented the local queer community and the other a religiously conservative group demanding the protection of children, who held signs such as "Leave The Kids Alone!" and "Pee Off Back To Newtown". Counter to the signs in favour of the book ban were signs against the ban such as "Diversity Is Our Strength" and "Books Save Lives" [36] [9]
Protestors supporting the rescinding of the ban were led by Pride in Protest. [6] Six police officers and two security guards were stationed inside the council chambers. [37] Most of the protesters had left by 8.30pm. Moreover, over 50,000 people from Cumberland and other communities were signatories to a petition on Equality Australia's website to have the ban overturned. [38]
Cumberland County is a county in the State of New South Wales, Australia. Most of the Sydney metropolitan area is located within the County of Cumberland.
Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blacktown Shire and becoming the Municipality of Blacktown in 1961 before gaining city status in 1979, the City occupies an area of 246.9 square kilometres (95.3 sq mi) and has a population of 410,419, making it the most populous local government area in Sydney.
The Auburn City Council was a local government area in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to its 2016 merger, the council area was located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of the Sydney central business district and had a culturally diverse population. Notable features in the area included the Gallipoli Mosque, located in the suburb of Auburn. The suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, the site of the main venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics, was located in the council area.
The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the council's name was changed to the "Municipality of Fairfield" in 1920, before being proclaimed a city in 1979. The City of Fairfield comprises an area of 102 square kilometres (39 sq mi) and as of the 2021 census had a population of 208,475. The mayor of the City of Fairfield is Cr. Frank Carbone, the first popularly-elected independent mayor of Fairfield.
The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and Cumberland, where the Cumberland Plain meets the Hornsby Plateau, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. The city occupies an area of 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi) spanning across suburbs in Greater Western Sydney including the Hills District, and a small section of Northern Sydney to the far north east of its area. According to the 2016 census, City of Parramatta had an estimated population of 226,149. The city houses the Parramatta central business district which is one of the key suburban employment destinations for the region of Greater Western Sydney.
The City of Ryde is a local government area in the Northern Sydney region, in New South Wales, Australia. It was first established as the Municipal District of Ryde in 1870, became a municipality in 1906 and was proclaimed as the City of Ryde in 1992.
Jacqueline Anne French , known professionally as Jackie French, is an Australian author who has written across several genres for both adults and children. Her most notable works include Rain Stones, Diary of a Wombat, and The Girl from Snowy River. Several of her books have been recommended for teaching the Australian Curriculum. French lives in Braidwood, New South Wales, with her second husband Bryan Sullivan.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Australia rank among the highest in the world; having significantly advanced over the latter half of the 20th century and early 21st century. Opinion polls and the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey indicate widespread popular support for same-sex marriage within the nation. A 2013 Pew Research poll found that 79% of Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth-most supportive country surveyed in the world. With its long history of LGBT activism and annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, Sydney has been named one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world.
Donald Thomas Harwin is an Australian politician. He was the New South Wales Special Minister of State and the Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts in the second Berejiklian ministry since April 2019; and the Vice-President of the Executive Council, and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council since January 2017 in the Berejiklian government. He briefly resigned from his roles with effect from 15 April 2020, however was reinstated on 3 July 2020.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Australian state of New South Wales have most of the same rights and responsibilities as non-LGBT people.
Christine Forster is an Australian former local government politician who was a Liberal councillor in the City of Sydney (2012–2021) and the younger sister of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Cumberland Council, trading as Cumberland City Council, is a local government area located in the western suburbs of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Council was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of parts of the Cities of Auburn, Parramatta, and Holroyd.
Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of the former Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville councils.
Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), Drag Queen Storytime, Drag Story Time, and Drag Story Hour are children's events first started in 2015 by author and activist Michelle Tea in San Francisco with the goals of promoting reading and diversity. The events, usually geared for children aged 3–11, are hosted by drag queens who read children’s books, and engage in other learning activities in public libraries.
Gender Queer: A Memoir is a 2019 graphic memoir written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It recounts Kobabe's journey from adolescence to adulthood and the author's exploration of gender identity and sexuality, ultimately identifying as being outside of the gender binary.
The 2017 New South Wales local elections were held on 9 September 2017 to elect the councils of 46 of the 128 local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales. Several councils also held mayoral elections and/or referendums.
Our Local Community (OLC) is an Australian political party that competes in local elections in New South Wales. The party was formed in 2013 by former Parramatta mayor Paul Garrard, and is currently registered with the New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC).
The 2024 New South Wales local elections are scheduled to be held on 14 September 2024 to elect the councils of 126 of the 128 local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales. Several councils will also hold mayoral elections.
This is a list of local government area results for the 2021 New South Wales local elections.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights taking place in the year 2024.
Announcing the rescission motion on social media, councillor Kun Huang said the ban amounted to discrimination and "this kind of censorship by politicians should have no place in Australia".
"If someone as deliberately divisive as Councillor Steve Christou thinks the Inner West is too inclusive and respectful, we wear that as a badge of honour.
ALIA is appalled by the actions of some members of Cumberland City Council who voted last week to ban books about same-sex parenting in their libraries. As stated in the APLA-ALIA Standards and Guidelines for Australian Public Libraries, 'public library collections should cover a wide range of popular topics, express a variety of viewpoints and cultural understandings, and represent a diversity of people, places, events, issues and ideas.'
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)"This motion that was moved by Councillor Christou, I knew nothing about...Yesterday I took it upon myself to get the book that had been banned. I read the book and have come to the conclusion that nothing sexualises children in this book" − Sarkis yesterday morning