Sydney:

Australian authorities have accused a Sydney father of trying to stop rescuers from saving his own family in a “horrifying” home fire that killed two boys and a baby girl.

Flames engulfed the home in western Sydney’s Lalor Park in the early hours of Sunday morning while the 28-year-old man, his female partner and seven children were inside, New South Wales state police said.

Three children — two boys aged three and six, and a 10-month-old girl — were killed.

The four other children aged between four and 11 and their mother, 29, were being treated at hospital for fire-related injuries but were all expected to recover, police said.

“This is a horrifying and senseless act that has quite rightly outraged the entire state,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said Monday.

“These children deserved a loving home with safety and security, and instead they are gone.”

Police said the three deaths were being investigated as a domestic-related multiple homicide.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described domestic violence in Australia as a “national crisis” following a spike in the number of violent deaths of women this year and a series of high-profile attacks.

State police said the 28-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly “frustrated” police efforts to enter the burning building.

He was in an induced coma while being treated in hospital, under police guard, they said.

“It does appear that the 28-year-old man is responsible for multiple deaths,” state homicide squad commander Danny Doherty told reporters on Sunday.

The suspect allegedly acted with “the intention of keeping the kids inside the premises whilst the fire was happening,” he said.

 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A Sydney council has voted to ban same-sex parenting books from local libraries, sparking discrimination and censorship concerns. According to The Guardian, at a meeting last week, the Cumberland City Council in western Sydney voted on a new plan for its eight libraries. The amendment, put forward by the former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou, proposed that the council take immediate action to remove same-sex parenting books and materials from its library services. He cited public complaints about the book to push for their removal. 

During the meeting, Mr Christou displayed a book titled ‘Same-Sex Parents’ by Holly Duhig and claimed that it had distressed parents due to its placement in the children’s section of the library. “We’re going to make it clear tonight that … these kind of books, same-sex parents books, don’t find their way to our kids,” he said,” as per The Guardian. 

“Our kids shouldn’t be sexualised.. This community is a very religious community, a very family-orientated community. They don’t want such controversial issues going against their beliefs indoctrinated to their libraries. This is not Marrickville or Newtown, this is Cumberland city council,” Mr Christou continued. 

The former mayor added that toddlers shouldn’t be “exposed” to same-sex content and that the proposed amendment was “for the protection and safety of our children”.”Hands off our kids,” he repeated. 

The council’s decision to ban same-sex parenting books has prompted discussions about representing diverse families in library collections. The New South Wales government has warned that the move could be a breach of the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act. Cumberland mayor Lisa Lake said she was “appalled” and “saddened” by the move. She noted that the content of the book, as with others in the series, was “age appropriate” and did not include any sexual content.

“I think it’s a serious issue about censorship,” she said, as per The Independent. “It’s important that information is available to anyone who wants to look at that information,” she added. 

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Auburn MP Lynda Voltz has asked the NSW arts minister, John Graham, to look at the matter. “I am greatly concerned at the decision of Cumberland council and believe that it may possibly risk breaching the guidelines for funding of libraries and may also be in breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act,” she said, as per The Guardian.

“The overwhelming majority of the people in Auburn will tell you that everyone is welcome and we pride ourselves on being a peaceful and friendly community,” she added. 

Separately, speaking on the matter, John Graham emphasised that it should be up to readers to choose which books they pick from the shelves. “When civilisations turn to book burning books or banning books it is a very bad sign. That is equally true for local councils,” he said. 

“We are examining the consequences this decision may have for the council continuing to receive library funding from the NSW government,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Christou clarified that the move was not targeted at the LGBTQ+ community but towards any books that promoted “sexualising”. 

A passenger ferry arrives at a wharf in Watsons Bay as a thick a blanket of smoke hangs over parts of the Sydney following New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) hazard reduction burns in the past week, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Sydney was blanketed under thick wood smoke for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday due to hazard reduction burns in preparation for the wildfire season.

Australia’s most populous city after Melbourne has recorded some of the world’s worst air quality readings since the controlled burning of fuel loads in the surrounding landscapes began on Sunday.

Fire authorities have only carried out 14% of planned hazard reduction burns across New South Wales state as of this week and are attempting to catch up before what is forecast to be a hot and dry Southern Hemisphere summer.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd said the burns were suspended on Thursday and Friday because of excessive pollution levels and that Sydney’s air was expected to clear soon.

“It’s mostly due to the smoke,” Mr. Shepherd said of the postponements.

“For the next 48 hours, we’ll give this smoke a chance to clear without fire agencies adding additional smoke to it,” Mr. Shepherd added.

Rain had prevented burning last week and an increased fire danger due to rising temperatures and windy conditions was expected to prevent burning late next week.

The coming wildfire season across southeast Australia is expected to be the most destructive since the catastrophic Black Summer wildfires of 2019-20.

The fires killed at least 33 people including 10 firefighters, destroyed more than 3,000 hones, razed 19 million hectares (47 million acres) and displaced thousands of residents.

Medical authorities estimated more than 400 people were killed by the smoke, which enveloped major cities.

Since then, three successive La Lina weather events have brought unusually wet and mild summers.

The rain has also created larger fuel loads and frustrated authorities’ hazard reduction plans. Only a quarter of the hazard reduction target was achieved through controlled burning across New South Wales last fiscal year.