Australians divided after a Western Sydney council banned books about same-sex parents from its libraries

Australians are divided after a Western Sydney council banned books about same-sex parents from its libraries.  

Cumberland City Council, which covers a population of about 240,000 people living near Parramatta, voted in May to ‘take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in council’s library service’.

The motion narrowly passed by six votes to five.

During the debate, former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou held up a picture of a book called Same-Sex Parents by author Holly Duhig, which he claimed had sparked complaints from his constituents.

The book features a gay male couple and their young son on the cover.

‘One parent texted me to say, “please get this crap off our shelves”, with a screenshot of the book,’ Cr Christou said. 

‘This is not Marrickville or Newtown.

‘We’re talking a demographic where 62 per cent of the population were originally born overseas.

‘The have very deeply-held conservative family and religious values, regardless of their religion, whether that be Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic, [or] Hindu.’

Cr Christou said the community was sick and tired of left-wing woke initiatives.

What residents think about the book ban?

Muslim woman Naz, 30, is in favour of the book being pulled as it could be too ‘overwhelming’ for young children.

‘It’s hard to tackle these topics because it’s very sensitive for everyone,’ she said.

‘Children should have exposure to everything, in time, but they need to be sheltered to develop the skillset to understand these things first.

‘The content around this is changing so rapidly, ten years ago most of us didn’t know there were more than two genders. 

‘I can understand as a Muslim female and future mother why young mothers want to protect their children from this – especially how it works with our Islamic views and culture.’

While Naz believed education should be available to children, she believes timing is key. 

She said the concepts of of gender and sexuality can be difficult for children to understand. 

‘For a kid raised in this environment it can be difficult to understand what a boy is or girl is. 

‘Then they’re confronted with being able to choose their gender, then they have to decide who they’re attracted to,’ she said.

‘I, myself, can accept and understand this concept but to a six-year-old it would be very hard.’

Craig, who lives in Regents Park, told Daily Mail Australia the council ‘shouldn’t be involved’ in deciding what parents allow their children to read.

‘There are all different kinds of people here; families can think whatever they want,’ he said.

Cumberland resident Naz (pictured) said while it’s important for children to ‘have exposure to everything’, ‘they need to be sheltered to develop the skillset to understand’ first

Former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia he opposed ‘any form of sexualisation of our children, whether it’s a heterosexual or homosexual’

Cumberland local Adriana, 32, said the electorate has a high concentration of Muslim believers who often have ‘really strong’ opinions about the LGBTQ+ community.

‘I haven’t seen the book and don’t know its content but I don’t think its fair if the council has just decided to pull it,’ she said.

‘If there was really strong negative feedback I can understand, but it’s not fair.’  

Shashank, 28, agreed, saying: ‘It’s not right for council to decide.

‘Children should get to know about these things so banning the book is not a good idea.

‘Parents have the first right in decisions for their children.’  

Adriana (pictured) said Cumberland has a high concentration of Muslim believers who often have ‘really strong’ opinions about the LGBTQ+ community

Shashank (pictured) believed it’s ‘not right for councils to decide’ what content parents allow their children to read

Belma, 61, said if parents are concerned about their children’s exposure to sexuality, the community library should be the least of their concerns.

‘You hear little kids talking about sex but that’s not the fault of any book, it’s the internet,’ she said.

‘You can’t just remove books, you need to remove the phones.

‘I’m Muslim and there would be some Muslims who would be very upset about the book.

‘But children need to learn about these relationships. It’s not right for them to learn when they’re already dating.’

Another Cumberland resident, 26-year-old Angel, said that while there are ‘a few religions’ in the area, ‘everyone should be entitled to their own opinion’. 

Belma (pictured) believes the book could have caused debate in Cumberland, which she said used to be ‘open minded’ but now is more conservative