Mackay councillors to sidestep petition over ‘pornographic and gender corrupt’ books
A Queensland council has voted on whether to ban “pornographic and gender corrupt” from its community libraries, along with whether to restrict drag shows to people over the age of 18.
Mackay
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A majority of council has voted to shoot down attempts to restrict drag performances to people above the age of 18, and review or remove books from the Mackay libraries in a feisty meeting on Wednesday.
Councillor George Christensen introduced the library bill following his support of a petition calling for the removal of the best-selling sex education book Welcome to Sex, which is aimed at teenagers and stirred ire in a small group within the community.
The petition, authored by North Mackay grandmother Rhonda Marriage, signed by about 80 people and tabled in April 2024, stated: “It is our will that all pornographic and gender corrupt materials targeting children, be removed from the Mackay Regional Council (MRC) libraries immediately.”
Speaking at the council meeting, Community Services Director Janine McKay stressed the significance libraries play in providing free access of information and that all books stocked in Mackay region libraries passed the necessary review process by the Australian Classification board.
“We can’t make an absolute statement on behalf of the 145,000 books in the library,” Ms McKay said.
“Under the library membership requirements, we require that parents supervise the borrowing and access of information.”
Mr Christensen went on to ask if any material had been removed from the library previously, which McKay responded “generally we give guidance but our staff don’t censor content on the request of the community because its just as likely someone might want access to that content.”
Councillor Martin Bella spoke against the motion arguing that it was broadly the parents responsibility to take full responsibility for content borrowed.
“What does the term gender corrupt mean?” Mr Bella asked, bewildered, looking at the gallery which included petition authors Tine McDonald and Rhonda Marriage.
“Who decides what is corruption of gender?”
Mr Bella indicated that children were far more at risk from being exposed to sexual materials on TV, social media and the internet.
“It’s worth noting that only recently the local government is trying to control this,” Mr Bella said, glancing at Mr Christensen.
“The incidents that are most concerning at the safety incidents occurring in our library, instigated by people attending censure.
“Is this the sort of behaviour that the cohort deems would be appropriate or seen as appropriate for children?”
A Mackay Regional found since June 2023 Mackay library staff had reported nine safety incidents involving interactions with members of the public regarding collection items, with a focus on age-appropriate materials.
“Council can confirm there are no items within the MRC library collection that are categorised as “pornography” or “gender corrupt” targeting children,” a report in the latest Mackay Regional Council agenda stated.
Mr Christensen pointed to the graphic novels The Boys and Sex Criminals as two instances of items which he found to contain sexually explicit material.
Councillor Karen May stood against the motion as well declaring that censoring material inside a public library was not what she signed on for as a member of council.
“We must not be the judge and jury on this, its not our role or remit at all.”
The motion follows New South Wales’s Cumberland Council’s decision in banning same-sex parenting books stating MRC was “conscious of the extensive community anger, protest, threats, and negative national media attention associated with (its) recent decision to limit freedom of expression and ban a single library book”.
“Community petitions against the ban with more than 40,000 signatures resulted in council voting to overturn the ban,” the report read.
Anyone concerned about the “appropriateness of items in the library” was urged to raise it with the ACB for review.
Mr Christensen wants age verification to be a requirement for adult non-fiction and adult fiction books containing sexually explicit content when the age of the borrower is unclear.
“Only in the instances where the librarian might be unsure of the age of the borrower,” Mr Christensen said.
“From the age of 14, parents no longer have the rights to access the medical record of children without permission,” Mr Bella said.
“Whether you like it or not, children are involved in sexual experimentation a lot earlier than 16 or 18.
“Let’s let librarians be librarians and parents be parents.”
Mayor Greg Williamson spoke near the end of the debate, expressing his unease at the disturbing nature of the debate.
“Freedom of access to information is one of the core principles of our secular democracy,” Mr Williamson said.
“Another core principle is that parents are the ones to choose how to raise their children.
“To stop that is an attack on our democracy.”
The motion, along with a motion to introduce age restrictions at the Mackay libraries was overturned with only Councillor Christensen, his Mackay First teammates Councillor Nathenea MacRae and Namarca Corowa, as well as Peter Sheedy supporting it.
It was voted against by Mayor Greg Williamson, Deputy Mayor Belinda Hassan, Marty Bella, Ash-Lee Johnson, Alison Jones, Karen May and Heath Paton.
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