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Randwick Council Children’s Mardi Gras Workshop Sparks Debate Over Library Programming

  • Mark Neugebauer - FCP Australia
  • Mar 7
  • 9 min read

Public institutions carry a particular responsibility when they engage with children. Schools, libraries, and councils do more than provide services, they help shape the cultural and moral environment in which families raise their children. For that reason, decisions about programming aimed at younger age groups deserve careful judgment, proportionality, and respect for the role of parents.


The question is not whether diversity exists within our society, it plainly does, but how and when public institutions should introduce social and identity themes to children who are still forming their understanding of the world.


My concern in situations like this is not driven by hostility toward any adult community or by a desire to exclude people from public life. It arises from a simple principle: children are not small adults. Developmental maturity, moral formation, and parental guidance all matter.


The following exchange between a local resident and Randwick City Council illustrates how these tensions are increasingly playing out in civic life.


Initial Correspondence to Council

The following email was sent by a resident to the council and library team regarding a Mardi Gras-related children's activity.


(Text reproduced in full for transparency.)


Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2026 4:06 AM

To: Library Events - Randwick City Library

Cc: Randwick City Council ; Office of the Mayor


Subject: Formal Concerns Regarding Disproportionate Promotion of Pride Themes in Children's Programming - Rainbow Pins and Brooches Workshop (K-6) and Broader Mardi Gras 2026 Event


Dear Randwick Council and Library Team,


I am writing to formally express serious concerns about the allocation of public resources to events that introduce homosexual/pride themes to young children, as exemplified by the "Rainbow Pins and Brooches Workshop (school years K-6)" scheduled for Tuesday, 24 February 2026, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm at Lionel Bowen Library, Maroubra.


As detailed on your website:

  • This free workshop, requiring bookings via Eventbrite and parental supervision (direct for K-2 children), targets kids in school years K-6 (approximately ages 5–12).

  • Participants use cardboard, acrylic paint, and scissors to create a "pin or brooch inspired by a rainbow," described as "playful & social" and something to "wear with pride."

  • It is hosted by local artist Jeff McCann (he/they), an openly queer artist whose practice and public statements celebrate queer identity (e.g., works like "Queer Champion," descriptions of art as honouring "my younger queerness," and collaborations with LGBTQIA+ organizations such as ACON and Wear it Purple). He has received awards for queer-themed contributions during events like Sydney World Pride

  • (Image included in original correspondence, so included here as well for tranparency)

  • The workshop is explicitly part of the library's Mardi Gras 2026 program, which includes other youth-focused pride events, such as a comic-making workshop for ages 12–18 exploring "stories based on your own unique experiences coming from queerness, gender identity," and family-oriented activities like Sparkle at the Beach (ages 0–12).

 


Children are highly impressionable and can easily become confused by concepts that many adults themselves only fully understand in mature contexts. The rainbow is the globally recognized symbol of the pride movement and Mardi Gras, directly tied here to celebrating LGBTQIA+ diversity and inclusion. Phrases like "wear with pride" and "get crafty this Mardi Gras" invoke adult pride symbolism in a setting presented as neutral, colourful fun for primary-school children—facilitated by an artist whose personal identity and body of work centre on queer celebration.


This is not about homophobia or excluding LGBTQIA+ adults from the community. It is about protecting young children's innocence from adult-oriented sexual orientation and identity themes being imposed through publicly funded institutions under the guise of playful crafting. Many in the community, particularly people of faith, view this as an insulting overreach that normalizes fringe adult concepts for innocent, impressionable minds, bordering on moral molestation of children using ratepayers' money. Common responses to such concerns include claims that "it's just innocent rainbows and art with no mention of sexuality," or that "it's inclusive and age-appropriate."


However, the explicit Mardi Gras context, pride language, rainbow symbolism, and the facilitator's openly queer focus make the intent clear to adults, and children absorb what authority figures celebrate and highlight. Public libraries serve diverse residents, including families whose religious or moral frameworks (rooted in Christianity, Judaism, and the moral compass of our laws and society) see sexual themes as matters for adult discussion and family guidance not council-endorsed children's activities.


If pride programming is offered, it should be restricted to adults (as you already provide a separate 13+ version of this same workshop) or balanced proportionally with other themes. Why prioritize rainbow pride crafts over equivalent events promoting respect for parents, police, and the law; foundational moral teachings from Christianity and Judaism; anti-bullying (including racism and antisemitism); confidence-building; or practical skills like chess clubs, pottery, sewing, sports, gardening, science, technology, AI, habitat conservation, pet clubs, fun runs, business mentoring, or hobby groups?


The possibilities for enriching, non-controversial children's programming are endless, yet the focus falls on highlighting homosexual themes with vibrant rainbow colors that can grab attention as an "exciting" identity.


I respectfully request:

  • Cancellation or restriction of pride/rainbow-themed craft events targeted at K-6 children, keeping such symbolism for adult-only programming.

  • Greater proportionality and balance in library children's events, ensuring equivalent resource allocation to diverse community values and skill-building activities that do not involve adult sexual/identity themes.

  • Confirmation of how the council/library will address these concerns to respect parental primacy and protect age-appropriate boundaries for all families.

 

I appreciate your attention to this important matter and look forward to your detailed response, including any planned adjustments to the 2026 Mardi Gras program and broader children's calendar. Please confirm receipt and outline next steps.


Best Regards

Ben Bornstein


Jeff McCann's Official Website and Bio (including he/they pronouns and inclusive/queer-focused practice)



Queer Identity and Statements

             Cayte Latta Memorial Award for Visual Arts (2023, from ACON)

Randwick Library Workshop and Mardi Gras 2026 Program

(Lists events including the workshops, comic-making for 12-18 on "queerness, gender identity," author talk, Sparkle at the Beach for 0-12, etc.)



These sources are primary (artist's site, council/library pages, official award/organization posts) and publicly accessible.


(end quote)


Council’s Response

In a written reply, the Mayor responded on behalf of Randwick City Council and acknowledged the concerns raised.


The response explained that the council supports Mardi Gras events as part of its commitment to inclusion and diversity within the community.


Regarding the specific workshop, the Mayor stated that the session was intended as an age-appropriate creative activity focused on art and colour, emphasising that parental supervision was required and that the activity “does not involve discussion of sexual content.”


The council also noted that participation in library programs is voluntary and that the library calendar includes a broad range of events including literacy programs, STEM workshops, cultural celebrations and hobby-based activities designed to serve a diverse community.



Follow-Up Response from the Resident

After receiving the mayor’s reply, the resident sent a further response challenging the council’s reasoning and raising additional concerns about council priorities and statutory obligations.


(Full text reproduced for accuracy.)


Dear Mayor Parker,


Thank you for taking the time to personally respond to my concern of your Council and making it clear that you personally endorse fringe sexual based themes to be woven into children’s (K-6) “council”/Library activities. “Participants (Children K-6) use cardboard, acrylic paint, and scissors to create a "pin or brooch inspired by a rainbow," described as "playful & social" and something to "wear with pride." 


Is it fair on parents and guardians , who want to have free or low cost activities for their youngest children to have them pressured to explain queer sexual themes as to why their library and council is encouraging children to craft and then "wear with pride"  a "pin or brooch inspired by a rainbow".


Your response below appears as a dance with words that dives for cover behind planning committees and even suggestions that this kind of children’s activity is required or obligated “under the Local Government Act 1993 as well as NSW Government Office of the Children’s Guardian Website (Child Safe Standards)”.. I address this claim later…


Your electorate did not put you or the other councillors in charge to spend taxes to be “inclusive” of sexual fringe themes to be woven into children’s activities to the exclusion of so many more mainstream and pressing needs for the community.


I call upon the other councillors copied on this email chain to take this to a new level  of concern where there are investigations as to who in particular is responsible for this push to divert the peoples taxes and good will into these kinds of arguable inappropriate children’s activities and question.


I further suggest a formal motion of no confidence be considered on any sitting Mayor that continues to endorse such activities.


Many will be getting quite upset at this council for spending money on childhood sexual fringe based activities like this (wear with pride"  a "pin or brooch inspired by a rainbow") while crying poor that the council “needs” to plaster more parking meters on some of Sydney’s last remaining beaches that can still be freely visited by car.The decisions in combination appear absurd and unrepresentative of the broader electorate’s Australian dream.


(Image generated by Ben and included in original correspondence so included here as well for transparency)


Re: Your Obligations under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) 

The Act grants councils broad discretionary powers to deliver community services, including recreation, education, information, and cultural activities (examples in notes to relevant sections). It includes principles for strong representation, community engagement, and value for residents, but no provisions require councils to host, sponsor, or fund specific events or programming, let alone any tied to Mardi Gras (Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras), LGBTQ+ themes, or age-specific groups like primary school children (K-6).There are no sections imposing obligations for particular cultural, festival, pride-related, or child-targeted events.


Councils have flexibility in deciding what community activities to support, often guided by their integrated planning, community needs, budgets, and priorities—not statutory mandates for any one event type.


Councils can choose to run or not run such events without breaching the legislation.


Re: Your Obligations under the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian's Child Safe Standards (or the broader Child Safe Scheme) 

There are no obligations under the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian's Child Safe Standards (or the broader Child Safe Scheme) that require the City of Randwick Council, or any local council, to host or sponsor Mardi Gras–related programming specifically for children in years K-6 (or any age group).


There is no provision in the Child Safe Standards, the Act, or OCG guidance that:

-Requires councils to run, fund, or sponsor any particular cultural, festival, pride-related, or diversity-themed events.

-Obliges inclusion of LGBTQ+-themed activities, story times, or Mardi Gras celebrations in child-focused programs.

-Forces programming targeted at K-6 children (or any group) on themes of sexual orientation, gender identity, or Mardi Gras.


No such targeted obligations exists on the OCG website or in the scheme.

Councils have discretion over library programming, community events, and how they allocate resources to promote inclusion, diversity, or cultural celebrations.


So I urge you and your council to use some discretion and not impose LGBTQ+- themed activities on our communities children through publicly funded institutions under the guise of playful crafting.

 

Best Regards

Ben Bornstein


(End Quote)



A Wider Civic Question

Disagreements like this should not be reduced to accusations of hatred on one side or moral panic on the other. In a plural democracy, public institutions inevitably serve communities with deeply different moral frameworks, religious convictions and expectations about childhood.


The responsibility of leadership in that environment is not to eliminate those differences but to navigate them with restraint, transparency and respect for conscience. When children are involved, the threshold for caution should be higher, not lower.


Ultimately the aim should not be cultural victory for any group. The more durable goal is maintaining trust between families and the institutions that serve them, trust that depends on recognising that parents remain the primary stewards of their children’s moral formation while public institutions exercise their influence carefully within the shared civic space.


End/


Thanks for reading.

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