Book ban uncovers uncomfortable truths for Labor in Sydney’s west

1 week ago 9

Labor councillor Mohamad Hussein had nary qualms astir supporting the removal of a book astir same-sex families from the shelves of Cumberland City libraries. It was not astir targeting immoderate peculiar group, Hussein insisted. Except it was, and that was however his colleagues successful Macquarie Street saw it.

“Stop being weirdly obsessed with however different ppl unrecorded their backstage lives and reasoning you look pugnacious punching down connected minorities. It’s pathetic,” Youth Minister Rose Jackson scolded connected X, formerly Twitter. “Don’t similar the books? Don’t work them.”

Councillor Steve Christou says helium has not work the publication helium wants to prohibition from assembly libraries.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said overmuch the aforesaid connected X. “Families travel successful each shapes and sizes. Every azygous 1 is precious,” Sharpe wrote. “Banning books astir families is 1 of the worst things.”

Arts Minister John Graham wielded a large stick. He warned the Labor-controlled assembly that it could suffer backing for its libraries if it does prohibition the publication Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, which features 2 men and a kid connected the beforehand cover.

The banning and burning of books has a long, sordid history. Almost 91 years agone to the time – May 10, 1933 – Nazi students burnt books by autarkic authors, journalists, philosophers and academics. An installation successful Berlin’s Bebelplatz commemorates what is missing done an underground room with capable bare shelves for 20,000 books – the fig that went up successful flames successful the plaza.

The archetypal reported banning of books was successful the US authorities of Massachusetts successful 1637, but the signifier is acold from a relic of the past. The American Library Association says much books were banned successful 2023 successful US schools and libraries than successful immoderate different twelvemonth for which records person been kept. The voices targeted, according to the association, were those of the “marginalised”, books daring to sermon the “the lives of those who are gay, queer oregon transgender, oregon that archer the stories of persons who are black, indigenous oregon persons of colour”.

We would possibly expect arsenic overmuch from the US. Yet councillors connected Cumberland Council person stormed consecutive into the aforesaid civilization wars.

The question to axe the same-sex parenting publication was the brainchild of the erstwhile politician and blimpish autarkic councillor Steve Christou, who has signifier successful stoking division. Only months earlier, Christou wanted “drag communicative time” banned from the council’s libraries. Never caput that the assembly had nary plans to big specified events. Christou’s ill-informed scaremongering saw hundreds of vocal locals crook up to the assembly gathering to enactment his resistance communicative clip ban.

Christou defended his latest question targeting the same-sex parenting book. In a swipe astatine the interior city, helium said Cumberland was “not Marrickville oregon Newtown” and insisted helium was representing the views of residents who helium claimed wanted their kids kept harmless from immoderate “form of sexualisation”.

His question passed six votes to five, acknowledgment to the enactment of Hussein and the lack of a Labor councillor, Sabrin Farooqui. Another Labor councillor, lawman politician Ola Hamed, abstained from the vote. Hamed said she had received threats aft the rowdy assembly gathering wherever the resistance communicative clip prohibition was debated, and constabulary are investigating.

Cumberland Council sits mostly successful the national spot of Blaxland, held by Labor’s acquisition curate Jason Clare. Blaxland was the electorate most opposed to same-sex marriage successful Australia. Almost 74 per cent of those who voted said “no” to the plebiscite successful 2017.

But to suggest Christou was lone responding to the wishes of his profoundly spiritual assemblage is to disregard the broader disquiet that exists successful occidental and south-western Sydney. Christou, the one-time national autarkic campaigner for neighbouring Parramatta, is fanning the choler that occidental Sydney communities person towards national Labor implicit its stance connected Palestine. Clare’s spot is simply a harmless one, but helium could travel nether superior unit if those Islamic communities vent their choler astatine adjacent year’s national election. So excessively could beryllium Employment Minister Tony Burke successful the neighbouring spot of Watson and adjacent much astatine hazard is Anne Stanley successful Werriwa.

Hussein issued a connection precocious connected Wednesday, saying helium “stood by his decision” to enactment Christou’s motion. It was “made successful enactment with my spiritual beliefs and I volition not beryllium comprising those beliefs”, helium said. His actions and those of chap Cumberland councillors tin beryllium dressed up successful immoderate mode they delight but, ultimately, they besides person LGBTQ constituents. It is these citizens, and their children, who person go their collateral damage.

Alexandra Smith is the Herald’s authorities governmental editor.