By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
CASEY councillor Rafal Kaplon has come out as gay after his fellow Four Oaks ward councillor Rosalie Crestani attempted to raise a motion to stop the City of Casey from promoting sexual orientation.
Cr Kaplon announced he was homosexual on Tuesday night following a tumultuous council meeting in which Cr Sam Aziz left in protest, forcing the session to dissolve because there was no longer a quorum.
Cr Crestani’s motion sought to stop council from issuing media releases and remove signs concerning sexual orientation or the lesbian, gay, bi, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.
Cr Crestani, also a candidate for the Rise Up Australia Party (RUAP) also sought to abolish council’s LGBTI diversity training program.
In a statement released after the meeting, Cr Kaplon said he felt it was important to make his sexuality public in a show of “strong community leadership” in the wake of Cr Crestani’s attempted motion.
“I chose to make the personal disclosure that I did in my statement at this time on a matter which is normally private and of no relevance or importance to my daily life because I believe this issue called for a show of strong community leadership,” he said.
“And it is pivotal for Casey GLBTQI youth to know that there is nothing wrong with them, and that they have support from the wider community and members of the council.”
Cr Kaplon said he was “relieved” Cr Crestani’s motion did not pass and that the City of Casey remained “accessible and inclusive for all and not just some.”
“Cr Crestani justified her Notice of Motion as not being against the GLBTQI community but rather to stop singling out groups for special treatment and protecting heterosexuals from discrimination,” he said.
“However I sadly feel that the motion was nothing more than a cheap political ploy by the Rise Up Australia Party and the mischievous ‘Lord’ Christopher Monckton who was present in the chamber to gain traction before the state election by picking on the Muslim and GLBTQI minority groups.”
Lord Monckton, a well-known conservative and controversial climate change sceptic, was at Tuesday night’s meeting but Cr Crestani didn’t elaborate on his attendance apart from to say he was assisting the RUAP with their anti-abortion agenda.
Cr Crestani said Cr Kaplon’s announcement would not affect their working relationship and friendship.
“I care about him (Cr Kaplon) greatly, I would take a bullet for Cr Kaplon and he and I work so well together, we have such a love for the community,” she said.
“I think we’ve achieved so much.
“I know we will continue to work together, we might have some slight differences but we also have genuine respect for each other.”
Cr Sam Aziz said he left the meeting after the alternative motion was proposed because he felt it was rushed through and was an impingement on his free speech.
He said his view on Cr Crestani’s motion was irrelevant.
“Australian law prescribes various rights and conditions to various individuals to protect their rights, council doesn’t have to pass a motherhood statement that says we drop that, it demeans and weakens everything we’ve said,” Cr Aziz said.
“I hate council making nonsensical statements when we have laws, at state and federal level, that protect our rights.”
