Cumberland Council says mayor must be called Mr or Madam

What would Winx think? It’s 2019 but Cumberland Council has voted to ensure it’s a rule the mayor be addressed as Mr or Madam after one leader said female horses were known as mares.

Cumberland Council has voted to ensure it stays as a rule that the mayor be addressed as Mr or Madam before their title

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What would Winx think?

It’s 2019 but Cumberland Council has voted to ensure it’s a rule the mayor be addressed as Mr or Madam before their title after one representative said female horses were known as mares.

At a recent council meeting, councillor Lisa Lake proposed to delete parts of a Code of Meeting Practice document that required the titles be used, saying it was irrelevant in today’s society.

She said it would also stick to the NSW Parliamentary Counsel’s Office Act of using gender neutral language — which was adopted in 1983.

“I think I’m councillor, not madam councillor,’’ she said.

“A chair can be chair, I don’t think it matters. It’s completely irrelevant.

Ross Grove. Picture: Robert Pozo

Lisa Lake. Picture: Angelo Velardo

“I have a look at councillor (Mayor Greg) Cummings’ title over there and it just says mayor. “That’s his title. That’s the title in the Local Government Act, that’s the title for whoever sits there, regardless of their gender and the gender stuff is so irrelevant now.”

But councillors including Eddy Sarkis and Ross Grove mocked her suggestion to delete the title.

“We could refer to mayor as Madam Mayor,’’ Cr Sarkis said.

“Well, it leaves it open. We can call you anything.”

Cr Grove thought about the animal kingdom when he voted against deleting “Madam or Mr Mayor” from the council’s papers.

One of the world’s most famous mares, Winx. Picture: Paul Braven

“Boys are boys girls are girls,’’ he said.

His motivation to stick to the title was previous Holroyd Mayor Yvette Whitfield, who insisted she be called Madam Mayor after a male councillor (who is no longer in office) compared her to a “mare” out of spite.

Former Holroyd mayor Yvette Whitfield.

“It was designed to be offensive,’’ Cr Grove said.

“It was designed to refer to a female mayor as a female horse.

“Everyone knew it. The mayor of the day knew it and requiring Madam Mayor, or whatever female pronoun, that that mayor of the day wanted … would have been a lot more acceptable.

“Perhaps it’s a little traditional, perhaps it’s a little old-fashioned.”

He said the council was simply adopting the State Government’s code of meeting practice.

Cr Grove said it was “a bit bizarre” to address his colleagues as Ms or Mr councillor but the mayor should be addressed with a pronoun.

“I’m also happy with Mr Mayor and Madam Mayor,’’ he said.

“I don’t want to be referring to the chair of this meeting as a female horse.”

Councillors who voted to keep the title in the council’s meeting practice were Mayor Greg Cummings, and councillors Grove, Sarkis, Ned Attie, Tom Zreika, Joseph Rahme, Michael Zaiter and Paul Garrard.

Councillors Suman Saha, George Campbell, Glenn Elmore, Ola Hamed, Kun Huang and Steve Christou supported Cr Lake’s move to delete the title.

Cr Lake labelled those who opposed her suggestion as old fashioned.

“I wouldn’t have a problem calling somebody Madam Mayor if that was their preference but I don’t think it should be mandated in the code of meeting practice,’’ she said.

“To have it in a rule, I think, is completely out of date and should go into the annals of history.”