Steve Christou (born 23 January 1978) is an Australian politician who has served as a councillor of

Cumberland City Council Cumberland Council, trading as Cumberland City Council, is a local government area located in the western suburbs of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Council was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of parts of the Citie ...

since 2017, representing Granville Ward. He previously served as the mayor of Cumberland between September 2019 and January 2022. Christou is a member of the Libertarian Party, having previously been a member of the Labor Party and Our Local Community. He also has an association with One Nation.

Political career

In 2017, Christou first ran for council under the newly amalgamated

as a member of the Labor Party, which became one of the five biggest councils in New South Wales, and represents approximately 245,000 people. Christou was elected as councillor for the Granville Ward in September 2017. In September 2019, Christou was elected as Mayor of Cumberland City Council under the Labor party. However, during his acceptance speech, resigned from the Labor party after almost 18 years of membership, citing his personal view that the party no longer represented working class values. Christou stated that he wouldn't have Labor head office dictating to him how he should vote on

same sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

and late term

abortions Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnanci ...

. Christou joined the Our Local Community (OLC) political party in 2019. At the 2021 local council elections, Christou was re-elected to his seat in the Granville Ward. With the Labor Party being elected with a majority of seats, Christou's Our Local Community Party became the opposition. However, he kept his seat as councillor for the Granville Ward. Christou ran in the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...

for the seat of Parramatta. He got 3.54% or 2,982 votes. Christou was re-elected again in the Granville Ward at the 2024 local council elections however he resigned membership of Our Local Community (OLC) citing the party's purported negotiations with Labor in an attempt to broker a deal which would involve the party supporting a Labor Mayor. In December 2024, he joined the Libertarian Party.

Senate candidacy

Christou was the forth position candidate on the

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

–

HEART The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

– People First joint ticket for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

at the 2025 federal election.

Political views

Christou holds conservative political views and has an active interest in a number of political and social issues.

COVID-19 lockdown

During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Christou expressed opposition to some restrictions, stating that the lockdowns were akin to living in "

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

", citing disparity in rules between the eastern and western suburbs of Sydney. When Victorian premier

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian former politician who served as the 48th premier of Victoria from 2014 to 2023. He held office as the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2010 and ...

classified Cumberland as a "red zone" and banned Cumberland residents from entering Victoria, Christou held a press conference labelling Andrews a "bedwetter".

ISIS brides repatriation

Christou was critical of the federal government's decision to bring back and repatriate families of

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

fighters.

Australia Day celebrations

Christou is a supporter of retaining

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

celebrations on 26 January.

LGBTQ+ motions

In February 2024, Christou proposed a motion to stop drag queen story time for children in Cumberland. The motion was initially denied. However in a rescission motion, to which local residents turned up to the Council meeting to protest in support of Christou's motion, the proposal was passed and drag queen story time events were banned from being held at public facilities in the Cumberland region, including libraries and halls. In May 2024, Christou proposed a ban on same-sex parenting books in the eight libraries located in the Cumberland local government area. Initially the proposal was passed at a Council meeting. However, it was overturned two weeks later following community backlash.

Voice to Parliament

Christou opposed the Voice to Parliament referendum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christou, Steve Living people 1978 births Anti-indigenous racism in Australia Australian conspiracy theorists New South Wales local councillors 21st-century Australian politicians