Mayor Steve Christou has condemned social media postings about Council’s Economic Statement including a Facebook page that used images of a child without consent.
During last night’s Council meeting, the Mayor expressed his disappointment about the ‘Care for Cumberland’ Facebook page, which shows “a lack of regard for privacy and child safety.”
He referred to an incident where the group posted a photo of the Mayor, holding his baby nephew. The photo had previously appeared in media coverage with parental permission, however, the photo was used by the group, without parental consent, and with a caption.
“I can tolerate personal attacks,” Mayor Christou said. “What I won’t tolerate is the people who run this page, violating this child’s privacy. They didn’t seek permission from the baby’s parents to use his image. They also referred to the baby boy as a ‘she.’
“In a second post, they posted his photo, again without parental permission. In this post, they made light of his gender and included his name. It wasn’t until the baby’s father complained that the two photos and the baby’s name were subsequently removed.
“As all Councillors are aware, Council has an adopted Child Protection Policy, and we take our child protection obligations very seriously in this Council.”
He said while he had no issue with groups like the United Services Union opposing Council’s plans to pursue efficiencies in areas like child care, the behaviour shown by individuals operating the Care for Cumberland Facebook page was “inappropriate” and “cowardly.”
“It’s not funny, it’s not effective lobbying – it’s below the belt in my opinion,” he said. “This is a page that certain members of this Chamber and the United Services Union, follow and engage with. The parents of the baby used in the photo are very distressed. The matter is serious and options to rectify the issue are being pursued.”
Commenting on Council’s financial situation, he said:
“The situation that we’re facing now is serious and the decisions we now have to make will ensure the future sustainability of Council. We’re not burying our heads in the sand on this issue. We know we have a responsibility to every ratepayer in Cumberland City to ensure our services are delivered in the most cost effective way possible and we intend to do this.”
Council’s Economic Statement is available at: cumberland.nsw.gov.au
To read the full Mayoral Minute, visit: www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/inlinefiles/ mayoral-minute-response-councils-public-economic-statement-16-Sept-2020.pdf
