We asked every Cumberland councillor about the same-sex book ban. Here’s what they said

A Sydney council’s controversial ban on a children’s book about same-sex parents is likely to be overturned after several councillors changed their votes in the face of a political backlash.

Cumberland City councillors will instead debate whether the book should be placed in the adult or children section of its libraries as Wednesday night’s meeting is expected to attract protests by groups both supportive of and against the ban.

The council faced national and global headlines and outrage from across the political spectrum for banning Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, part of a series depicting diverse family structures for a younger audience. It features two men and a child on the front cover.

We asked every Cumberland councillor where they stood on the same-sex parent book ban, set to be revoked at a meeting on Wednesday night. Credit: Cumberland Council / supplied

Of the 15 councillors on the western Sydney council, at least eight will vote to support an urgent motion to overturn the ban, which was passed by a 6-5 majority at the last council meeting a fortnight ago after Steve Christou moved the motion.

But Christou’s own colleagues in Our Local Community – a conservative party with representatives in several councils across western Sydney – are set to vote against the divisive figure over the issue. Our Local Community councillors Paul Garrard and Helen Hughes told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Tuesday that they would support a vote to rescind the ban.

Garrard, who seconded the motion two weeks ago, said it was created “with a bit of undue haste” mid-meeting and was worded incorrectly.

The wording of the motion – that proposed council “take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in council’s library service” – was “not the intention of the motion at the time”, he said. “The intent was to rid the book from the toddler’s area.”

Hughes also said the motion “just had the wrong wording”.

Eddy Sarkis, who left Our Local Community in February after not being endorsed by the party for the upcoming elections, said he was shocked by the motion.

“This motion that was moved by Councillor Christou, I knew nothing about,” said Sarkis, who was on an overseas trip during the previous meeting and did not vote on the original motion. “Yesterday I took it upon myself to get the book that had been banned. I read the book and have come to the conclusion that nothing sexualises children in this book.”

Sarkis said library staff told him the book was acquired in February 2019, and in the five years it was on the shelves, it was borrowed only once.

Christou said he would vote against any plans to rescind the motion. Mohamed Hussein, the sole Labor councillor who voted in support of the ban and drew criticism from senior Labor figures for doing so, declined to say how he would vote, telling the Herald to send questions in an email – before saying he would not read it.

Labor mayor Lisa Lake would not comment on the vote as she is due to chair the meeting, but will almost certainly vote to rescind the ban in line with Labor colleagues.

Ola Hamed, the Labor deputy mayor, abstained from the first vote, saying she had received death threats after an earlier council meeting debating drag story times. She did not respond to requests for comment about how she would vote.

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