A local council in Sydney has voted to ban books about same-sex parents from its libraries. Six Cumberland City Councillors voted in favour of the ban, while five, including Mayor Lisa Lake, opposed it.

The New South Wales Government has warned it could breach the Anti-Discrimination Act and even threatened to pull the council’s library funding, as a result.

Councillor Steve Christou proposed the ban, arguing that most of the council’s constituents are conservative and religious, and don't want “any form of sexualised experiences” available to children in the library.

But is a same-sex parenting book sexualised content?

In this episode, Bension Siebert speaks with Councillor Steve Christou to find out why he proposed the ban.

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Australia’s birth rate has been in a relatively steady decline since a peak in the early 1960s.

It’s rebounded a small amount after hitting a record low in 2020, but it still sits well below the total fertility rate of 2.1 that’s needed for a population to sustain itself.

Is that a bad thing for Australia? And how does the rest of the world compare?

On today’s deep dive we speak with Professor Amanda Davies from the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia to try to answer those questions.

Headlines:

Parents of slain Aussie brothers speak for the first time

Israel takes control of Palestinian side of Rafah crossing as ceasefire deal stalls

Interest rates staying at 4.35 per cent

TikTok sues to block US law that’d ban the app

Mona’s ‘Ladies Lounge’ could become a toilet or church in a bid to keep men out

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Israeli tanks have reportedly been spotted just 200 metres from the edge of Rafah, less than a day after an estimated 100,000 Palestinian civilians were ordered to evacuate.

Bordering on Egypt, the southernmost city of Gaza has become the last refuge for around 1.4 million Palestinians who have fled the violence and destruction elsewhere.

The impending invasion comes after Hamas agreed to a proposed ceasefire that was declined by Israel, and after the forced the closure of foreign media outlet Al Jazeera - one of the only media broadcasters active from the Gaza strip.

To explain more, Bension Siebert is joined by Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist, film-maker and author of the best-selling book, The Palestine Laboratory.

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