Mayor Steve Christou receives flak for stating festivals like Lunar New Year, Diwali and Ramadan are not part of Australia’s culture

Cumberland City Council Mayor Steve Christou has drawn flak from across the multicultural community and political leaders in Australia for his comments stating – events such as Lunar New Year and Diwali were not “a core essential item” for his local council.

Mr Christou who has been in the headlines for spending $58,000 on a mayoral Mercedes Benz, $44,000 on a new customer service centre and mayoral office in Merrylands, and tried to get $15,000 a year to pay for his overseas travel from Cumberland City Council stated that – such events did not deserve funding despite the fact that many Australians celebrate these festivals.

NSW Labor Leader and Shadow Minster for Multiculturalism Jodi McKay has condemned Mr. Christou’s comments and added that his comments “were disrespectful and irresponsible”. She goes on to say that the Mayor “just doesn’t understand that festivals like Lunar New Year and Diwali are a part of modern, multicultural Australia.

“These are festivals celebrated by Australians from all backgrounds and all walks of life. They are a part of our whole country’s social and cultural fabric. The notion that this Mayor believes his council should only fund events which reflect certain cultures is offensive. His comments are inappropriate for someone who represents one of the most multicultural local government areas in NSW,” Ms McKay said.

“It is clear Mr Christou is out of touch with his community,” she added.

“Unlike him, I’ll be celebrating festivals like Lunar New Year and Diwali with my fellow Australians, especially in Western Sydney, which is the heart of modern and multicultural Australia,” Ms McKay reiterated.

As per the media statement: more than 14,000 residents of Cumberland City Council were born in China, 4,738 were born in Vietnam and 14,300 in India and 4,900 in Nepal. Australian heritage polled third in the 2016 census (10.1 per cent) behind Lebanese (11.3 per cent), Chinese (10.8 per cent) and Indian (7.1%).

  #Jodie Mckay, #multicultural NSW, #Racism, #ScoMo