Albany city councillor responds to backlash over comments maligning LGBTQIA+ community

An Albany city councillor has said he is the “antithesis of homophobic” after he was condemned for incorrectly stating that the plus in LGBTQIA+ includes paedophiles, saying he was doing his “duty” by airing the concerns of “a large number of electors”. Cr Thomas Brough received backlash from Albany Pride and fellow councillors after he incorrectly stated at a council meeting on Tuesday night that paedophiles were included in the LGBTQIA+ acronym, doubling down on his comments in an interview with ABC radio the following morning. Speaking to the Advertiser on Friday afternoon, Cr Brough unequivocally denied that he was homophobic. “Institutionalised discrimination on the basis of sexuality is a scourge,” he said. In an earlier statement to the Advertiser on Wednesday night, Cr Brough said “a large number of electors” had been in touch with him “expressing concerns about the sexualisation of children, and the possibility of Minor Attracted Persons seeking inclusion within a community that champions inclusivity”. The doctor and volunteer firefighter indicated he was exercising “the first duty of a councillor” by having “the courage to bring matters to the public square on behalf of a constituency even if they are controversial”. “I know that these concerned citizens will be appreciative of the feedback that has come from the LGBTQIA+ community, reassuring them that inclusivity has its limits,” he said. Fellow councillor Amanda Cruse said councillors had received a “handful” of “ugly and upsetting” emails expressing concern about the pride festival and its family-themed events but that the “vast majority of residents would have profoundly disagreed with them”. “The Albany Pride Festival is one of the best in regional Australia and a real feather in our cap,” she said. “A few detractors don’t change that.” Albany Pride committee member Tiger Bird said the pride organisation had not received any letters regarding the plus in the definition calling it “the latest attempt by the right-wing to malign and attack our community by associating us with paedophilia”.