NSW arts minister says Sydney council is ‘importing US culture war’ with book ban
NSW’s arts minister, John Graham, says a Sydney council has sent a “terrible message” by voting to ban same-sex parenting books, importing a “US culture war into our country”.
In case you missed it: Cumberland city council voted to place a blanket ban on same-sex parenting books from local libraries. Labor councillor Mohamad Hussein voted in favour of the motion, which passed six to five.
Speaking to ABC RN earlier this morning, Graham said he had not spoken to the councillors directly but understood there would likely be another vote next Wednesday.
That’s a good thing. I think it’s a chance for the council to reconsider.
He said the council’s decision to ban same-sex parenting books is in breach of guidelines that apply to public libraries across NSW, stating they should be “an unbiased source of information and ideas”. Abiding by this is a condition for funding, Graham said.
The minister said he has read the book which sparked the ban – which is a “simple story [showing] that families come in all shapes and sizes”.
It’s a terrible message to send, to have this councillor importing this US culture war into our country and playing it out on the shelves of the local library. I think the community expectations are clear – the local councillors should be coming around to pick up their bin, not telling them what to read.
Key events
Native title holders reject government’s imminent ‘future gas strategy’
Native title holders from the Beetaloo Basin region have responded to the government’s new gas strategy, stating “the answer is not gas but solar” while questioning how potential fracking will impact future generations.
Our climate and environment editor Adam Morton had all the details on this earlier in the blog, here and here, in case you’re just joining us. Essentially, a “future gas strategy” is set to be released by the Albanese government and will argue Australia needs new sources of fossil fuels to meet demand “to 2050 and beyond”.
Chair of the Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation, Djingili Elder Samuel Sandy, said the answer is “not gas but solar” and said in a statement:
We don’t need new gas which involves drilling into our land in the Northern Territory and damaging our country, culture and water.
We want new, renewable energy. The answer is not gas but solar, which can power our communities from the sun. This is where we want governments to concentrate. That way, we can have a better future together.
Sandy also questioned the long-term impact of fracking for future generations:
This new method of mining, fracking, is very highly dangerous. If gas mining poisons water we will all suffer. Water is life, and it’s so significant—to land, culture, songlines and our grandchildren.
If our country is fracked, where are we going to take our grandchildren out on country to teach them, the way my grandfather taught me? How will they be taught the songlines, our way of life?
It’s already getting hotter here, making it harder to live on country. Already our people can’t keep their homes cool. Digging and burning more gas will make this worse.
Melbourne households paying the most for transport costs, data shows
AAP has more details on the latest transport affordability data (see previous post):
The research from the Australian Automobile Association found families in capital cities paid an average of $487 a week for transport between January and March, up $18 from the December quarter.
But households in Melbourne paid significantly more at $563 per week, while Brisbane families paid $555 per week, and those in Sydney paid $521.
Households in Hobart ($428), Darwin ($447), and Adelaide ($447) scraped in under the weekly average.
Transport costs also impacted households in regional areas, with the report finding the average outlay had risen by $20 to $416 a week.
Households in Geelong in Victoria ($443), Alice Springs in the Northern Territory ($442), and Western Australia’s Bunbury ($438) paid the highest weekly transport costs.
Car payments made up the biggest share of transport costs at 46%, followed by fuel bills (22%), and insurance (9.3%).
Transport costs on the rise for Australian households, growing 10% in a year
A new report shows that transport costs for the typical Australian household grew by 4.5% in the March quarter – 3.9% for capital cities and 5.3% for regional areas.
This was almost four times the quarter’s consumer price index rise of 1%, the Australian Automobile Association noted when releasing the report.
The report also shows that in the 12 months to 31 March, typical Australian household transport costs rose by 10% – 2.8 times higher than the same period’s CPI increase of 3.6%.
In the March 2023 quarter the typical capital city household spent 16.4% of its income on transport, but in the March 2024 quarter this had risen to 17.3%. Over the same period, the typical regional household’s transport costs rose from 15.1% of its income to 16.3%.
The overall rise in transport costs was largely being driven by higher up-front costs for purchasing new vehicles, the AAA said. The association’s managing director, Michael Bradley, said:
The continuing decline of transport affordability is a heavy burden at a time when Australians are feeling cost-of-living pressures across the board.
Transport is a significant and unavoidable expense for households, and is also one of the key drivers of general inflation. Governments at all levels must consider these cost pressures when formulating policy.
The findings come as the federal government prepares to introduce new fuel efficiency standards, which you can read the details on below:
Man charged with domestic violence offences after allegedly tracking vehicle of a woman
A man has been charged with domestic violence offences, with police alleging he installed tracking devices in the vehicle of a woman he knew.
On Tuesday night, strike force detectives executed a search warrant at a home in Riverview, in Sydney’s north shore, amid an investigation into the alleged importation and distribution of prohibited drugs in the state.
During the search police located and seized $230,000, as well as two listening and GPS surveillance devices. Detectives arrested a 36-year-old man at the scene.
He was taken to Manly police station and charged with contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO (domestic), stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm, and possess surveillance devices intend unlawful use.
Detectives will allege in court the man had installed the tracking devices in the vehicle of a woman who was known to him.
The 36-year-old was refused bail to appear before Manly local court yesterday. Investigations are continuing.
Greens willing to ‘negotiate in good faith’ around federal Help to Buy scheme
Max Chandler-Mather said the Greens were willing to “negotiate in good faith” around Labor’s Help to Buy housing scheme.
As our reporter Sarah Basford Canales explains, the proposal is known as a shared equity scheme and aims to help eligible applicants get into the housing market by loaning them 30% (for an existing build) or 40% (new build) of the purchase price.
That reduces the bank loan to 60% or 70%, so those eligible will require smaller deposits and loans. You can read her full explainer on the scheme below:
Speaking to ABC RN just before, Chandler-Mather argued a similar scheme in NSW was “woefully broken” with 3,000 places offered but only 100-200 taking it up:
Now the government has said in response to questions on notice that the cost of this scheme will be over $5bn over the next … four or five years. $5bn for a scheme that in NSW maybe helped one or 200 people buy a home is frankly ridiculous. And if they have $5bn to spare, why not [invest] in public housing?
On the question of negative gearing and capital gains tax, Chandler-Mather argued “we heard this rhetoric from the government on the stage-three tax cuts and then they relented and shifted it somewhat inadequately.” He argued the capital gains tax discount was “more unequal than the stage-three tax cuts”.
Chandler-Mather hits back at comments from RBA governor that migration is putting pressure on housing market
Speaking to ABC RN, Max Chandler-Mather is asked about comments from the RBA governor Michele Bullock that migration is putting pressure on the housing market.
He responded he does not believe migration is the primary cause, but it is tax handouts, a lack of rent control or regulation, and “a chronic underinvestment” in public housing.
We know there’s a large amount of vacant homes across Australia because our housing market encourages people to treat it as a lucrative financial asset. I suppose I get frustrated with this because to be perfectly frank, even if Australia’s migration was brought down to net zero as it was during Covid, that did not solve the housing crisis – house prices and rents are going up…
Not only do I think we should value a multicultural society, and I think it would be unfortunate if our purported solution to the housing crisis was to go down a route that frankly, I think often – I’m not suggesting you are PK or necessarily Bullock – but a lot of certainly people like that will end up using it as a way to … demonise migrants and blame them for a crisis they frankly have nothing to do with.
Let’s put it this way – right now as mortgages rates go up the big banks are recording some of the biggest profits ever… off a turbocharged housing crisis. Now I would argue that they are far bigger culprits in encouraging and pushing for and lobbying for a housing system that allows them to make lots of money, they’re far bigger culprits than any migrants coming to this country.
Greens continue call for freeze or cap on rent increases
The Green’s housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, says the party will continue calling for a freeze or cap on rent increases, despite it being shot down by federal and state governments last year.
He is currently speaking to ABC RN and says:
What we know now, thanks to the RBA, is that over the next year, the rent increases will be even bigger. It’s a red tsunami coming for renters, [a] 10% increase which amounts to … [an] over $5bn collective rent increase for renters. Now, if the government in this budget fronted up money to help coordinate a national freeze and cap on rent increases, we could save renters, on average, about $2,500 a year.
Now that might not be much for someone who’s on the wealthier end of the spectrum, but for a lot of people that’s food on the table, that’s paying some electricity bills, that’s paying for some costs that they’ve been putting off.
Host Patricia Karvelas pushes that the federal government doesn’t have the power to introduce a freeze, and this lies with the states. Chandler-Mather responded:
The point is the federal government, the way it gets things done in this country often is offering the state’s money in exchange for action across the country, coordinated through national cabinet. It is, I would say, particularly bad faith for the government to pretend like they don’t do this all the time and other areas because they are a priority. Now if it were a priority, helping renters and not treating them like second class citizens, then the government could do this on rent as well.
Melissa Davey
Bill to ban manufacture, sale and advertising of vapes should pass, Senate committee says
A bill to ban the manufacture, sale, and advertising of vapes in Australia should be passed, a Senate committee has recommended, following evidence from public hearings and almost 300 submissions.
If passed by the Senate, the legislation will mean the only way vapes can legally be obtained is through a prescription from a GP or nurse practitioner which is presented to a community pharmacy. A vote is expected in June.
The committee published its report yesterday afternoon after hearing from representatives from the health, education, pharmaceutical, vaping, medical and retail sectors across two days earlier in May.
The legislation will also see a new framework for the regulation of vapes introduced so state and territory officials can undertake enforcement action. It includes new offences and civil penalties related to the importation, domestic manufacture, supply, commercial possession and advertisement of vaping goods, and enhances federal enforcement powers.
However, individuals with personal supply will not be targeted, Butler has previously said.
The legislation was introduced in addition to reforms which began in January that banned the importation of disposable vapes from overseas. Additional comments from the Greens and Coalition, and a dissenting report from the Nationals, were published by the committee alongside its report. Read more:
NSW minister says local councils shouldn’t get to choose what other people can and cannot read
NSW arts minister John Graham was also asked about comments from Labor councillor Mohamad Hussein, who voted in favour of the motion.
Hussein has doubled down on the ban and cited his religious beliefs as reasoning. Responding to this, Graham stated there is a “real right here, and that’s the right to choose”.
I’ve had total respect for people’s religious views, their strongly held moral views, and they should exercise those as they choose what to read, or as they choose to give their children guidance about what to read. Those are really important freedoms, but they shouldn’t be exercised by local councillors for other people.
Graham said that people rely on libraries for “unbiased information” and he argued this is really important amid the growth of social media:
…where the clutter of clashing views makes it very hard to sift through [and] have an unbiased source of information, have access to information that hasn’t been filtered, is even more important than ever. And that’s the role of public library plays.
John Graham on future funding for Cumberland city council libraries, amid book ban
Speaking to ABC RN, the NSW arts minister, John Graham, said advice was being sought as to whether Cumberland city council was contravening any anti-discrimination laws.
He has also written to the council personally, stating it is in breach of library guidelines and to “really ascertain the facts and ask them what they are intending to do”:
Each of those councils signs off when they apply for funding to say that they are in compliance with the guidelines, and I’m not clear how they’re intending to sign that off and apply for funding next time …
They’ve got the opportunity to [reconsider] next week. I hope they will. That’d certainly be a better result for their citizens.
Host Patricia Karvelas asked if the state government would really take funding from local libraries. Graham said council would not be eligible to apply in the first place if they did not meet the guidelines, and said:
If this is the path that councillors go down, they simply won’t be able to apply.
Those guidelines have been in place for a long time [and] are very important. They protect in exactly this situation. This is one instance. Imagine if we let this culture war imported from the US roll on, the number of books that people would want to argue about being taken off our shelves.