Cumberland City council bans same-sex parenting books from its libraries in western Sydney

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A Sydney council has voted to ban same-sex parenting books from its libraries.

Cumberland Council, which includes the western Sydney suburbs of Auburn, Granville and Merrylands, made the decision last Wednesday.

Former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou put forward the amendment 'that council take immediate action to rid same sex parents books/materials in council's library service'.

The motion passed with six councillors in favour of the amendment and five against, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. 

Cr Christou held up a picture of a book called Same-Sex Parents by author Holly Duhig which he claimed had sparked complaints from his constituents.

The book features a gay male couple and their young son on the cover. 

Cr Christou told Daily Mail Australia that he opposed 'any form of sexualisation of our children, whether it's a heterosexual or homosexual'. 

The book by Holly Duhig, titled 'Same-Sex Parents', features two men and a child on the cover.

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'We believe children should be able to walk into a council library and enjoy a kids' book without being exposed to this kind of sexualisation,' Cr Christou said.

He proposed the ban received multiple complaints from parents. 

'One parent texted me to say 'please get this crap off our shelves', with a screenshot of the book,' Cr Christou added.

'This is not Marrickville or Newtown. 

'We're talking a demographic where 62 per cent of the population were originally born overseas. 

'The have very deeply-held conservative family and religious values, regardless of their religion, whether that be Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic, Hindu.

Cr Christou said the community was sick and tired of left wing woke initiatives being infiltrated. 

'They are too busy trying to pay the mortgage, the rent, the bills and put food on the table to feed their children - those issues are most important to them,' he continued.

'This is a distraction the community does not need.'

Daily Mail Australia has approached the book's author for comment. 

Mayor Lisa Lake was among the five councillors who voted against the ban.

'If it's not a banned book then certainly there's no reason why it shouldn't be available to someone who may be seeking it through our libraries, and it's certainly not a matter for us to censor,' Cr Lake said. 

'It's not reflective of the principles that Cumberland City Council upholds generally in our community.' 

Former mayor and current councillor Steve Christou (pictured) put forward the amendment 'that council take immediate action to rid same sex parents books/materials in council's library service'

Cr Christou rejected the notion that the ban was discriminatory, telling the Herald that the book was sexualising young children.

'Children are innocent and should be allowed to enjoy appropriate story reading time in their libraries without being burdened by issues of sexualisation,' he told the paper. 

Rainbow Families, an organisation which supports LGBT families across Australia, criticised the decision and said it would make some families not feel welcome. 

'There seems to be support from local government at the moment across Sydney against our families which is a move backwards for inclusion and diversity,' the charity's Executive officer Ashley Scott told the paper.

Daily Mail Australia asked Cumberland Council whether the ban would also include fiction. 

'Council has commenced the process of reviewing its collection with a view to determining those titles which would need to be considered for removal from library services in implementing this resolution,' a spokesperson said.