Library Amendment Bill 2026

The Hon. CHRIS RATH ( 17:54 :38 ): I contribute to debate on the Library Amendment Bill 2026. I love libraries so much that I got married in one—to be specific, the State Library next door. I acknowledge the special guests in the gallery from the State Library. It is a truly remarkable venue, not just for weddings but also as a library. Having the ceremony in the Vestibule and then up in the Paintings Gallery was a truly remarkable experience. Libraries will always have a very special place in my heart—in particular, the State Library. It was Library Lovers Day on 14 February—on Valentine's Day. I hope that other people love libraries as much as I do and that they celebrated Valentine's Day loving libraries.

The Coalition has a long history of making its love of libraries in New South Wales no secret. In 2018 we delivered the largest increase to public library funding since the establishment of this very Act in 1939. In our final full year of government in 2022, when the current President was the Minister for the Arts, we delivered a further $165 million investment into our public libraries across the State. It is with that record of championing our libraries that I am pleased to support the bill. This bill brings two straightforward and reasonable changes to the location of regulations of libraries in New South Wales, in both cases to simplify governance and to strengthen already existing provisions.

Firstly, the bill moves the authority for the Library Council to regulate the State Library of New South Wales and the authority for local councils to regulate local libraries into the Library Act, simplifying the governance and regulation of those organisations. This is a simple governance change, recommended by the Parliamentary Counsel's Office and supported by Local Government NSW—an organisation that I spent a lot of time working with in my previous portfolio as the shadow Minister for Local Government. Secondly, the bill enshrines the "freedom to collect" into the Library Act, giving libraries greater certainty of their ability to purchase and hold books and resources as required and in the interests of their local communities. With the key role of libraries being to engage, educate, enrich and empower the people of New South Wales, ensuring that libraries are free to hold texts that meet the interests and the needs of their local community is paramount.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the broader implications of enshrining the freedom to collect, particularly its role in safeguarding libraries against censorship and the emergence of book bans. As a classical liberal, I believe good very rarely comes from censorship and the government dictating which ideas can and cannot be expressed. In particular, good very rarely comes from when that seeps into institutions such as our public libraries. Both sides of politics have a duty to ensure that we do not fall down the populist and authoritarian path being taken around the world, and that we do not accept or promote the banning of books and ideas in our libraries.

I remember when the Cumberland City Council book ban issue blew up in May 2024. The council eventually overturned that decision, which was a good thing. At the time I tweeted, "History shows us that the people trying to ban books are never the good guys." We need not search long and hard to find those historical examples. Each of them is enduring proof that we cannot let the views of those in power, neither ourselves in this Chamber nor local councillors across New South Wales, dictate what can and cannot be held in our libraries. This Parliament should and must protect our libraries from censorship. As such, I am pleased to commend the bill to the House.

Dr AMANDA COHN ( 17:59 :13 ): The Greens support the Library Amendment Bill 2026. Libraries are essential community infrastructure. The diverse materials, events and services that libraries offer are a vital community resource, particularly for families, young people, older people and those living in regional and rural communities. Nasty campaigns for book bans and suppression of LGBTQIA+ identities and visibility, inspired by American culture wars, are causing real harm. Libraries must be able to collect and share diverse experiences of human life in their collections. Banning books in public libraries that depict same-sex relationships sends a message that some people are not welcome in their local community because of who they are. Representing Rainbow Families, Ashley Scott said:

LGBTQ+ parents and their families face systemic discrimination and invisibility every day and libraries should be places where we feel welcome and safe. Reading helps children to understand the world around them. All children should grow up knowing that love is what makes a family and that every family matters.

Those stories are important not only for rainbow families. Storytelling is a critical way for us to learn about people who have experiences different to our own and to build community connection. Cumberland City Council attempted to ban books about same‑sex parenting from the council's eight libraries in 2024. That decision was deeply unpopular. Over 40,000 people signed a petition to lift the ban. Local grandmother Caroline Staples said:

Western Sydney welcomes people of different backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. We don't ban people or families and we won't allow publicity-seeking politicians to play members of our community against each other.

The council reversed its decision once it was made clear that it would lose State Government funding as a result of the ban, but that has not stopped a small number of vitriolic campaigners voicing opposition to the content of books on their local library shelves and making libraries unsafe for staff and other patrons. The Australian Library and Information Association has described the distress caused by campaigners calling librarians horrible names and threatening doxxing or physical violence. Drag story time was banned at Cumberland council's libraries last year, despite no drag story time events ever having been held at any of the council's libraries.

It is timely for the Parliament to intervene and nip those attempted and proposed book bans in the bud to keep local libraries a safe and welcoming place for everyone. The bill provides that a local library must be free to collect and make available library material and that local authorities—typically councils—must comply with that requirement. In practice, that means that a council cannot prohibit a library from sourcing and providing books of any specific nature. That provision is currently reflected in a guideline issued by the Library Council. The bill will strengthen the ability of councils to collect widely by legislating it.

Additionally, the bill moves rule making around the use of libraries from the currently prescriptive regulations to the Act. That enables basic rules to be set at a local level, including things like whether people can bring in food, pets or umbrellas, and how long the default loan period is. I understand that the Library Council will release guidelines setting out the scope of library rules in accordance with the Act as amended. Importantly, that would not permit a library to impose rules in breach of existing State or Commonwealth law pertaining to discrimination or freedom of political communication.

The bill is a small but important affirmation that LGBTQIA+ people belong and are welcome in every community across the State. It is disappointing that the Government is stopping here and not legislating anti‑discrimination protection for people left behind by the outdated Anti-Discrimination Act in New South Wales. As it stands, the State's anti-discrimination law contains sweeping exemptions and outdated references to homosexual and transgender people that exclude bisexual, asexual, non-binary people and others, instead of providing broad protection based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The United Nations Human Rights Council has called on Australia to end laws that allow religious schools to legally discriminate against LGBTQIA+ students and staff. Students and teachers are missing out on employment and education opportunities in the State every day that the reform is delayed.

The Attorney General has now confirmed that we will not see legislation from the Government in this term of the Parliament. That is a tough pill to swallow when the Government did amend the Anti-Discrimination Act to provide protection against vilification for religious groups while its lengthy Law Reform Commission review was underway. Finally, if the Government is really serious about LGBTQIA+ visibility and inclusion then it should explicitly fund pride events and festivals—not on an ad hoc basis and not as tourist attractions, but in their own right, for the benefits they bring to community, connection and wellbeing. That is critical particularly in a context where more and more events are being cancelled either due to threats, unreliable sponsorship or both.

The Hon. PETER PRIMROSE ( 18:04 :11 ): I support the Library Amendment Bill 2026. It has been put to me by a number of people, including my research and policy officer, that the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is actually about the importance of libraries, librarians and how using library resources and having access to a wide variety of lawful library resources and materials can save the world and make it a better place. The issue of the importance of libraries in our communities reminds us of what former Prime Minister the Hon. Bob Hawke once said about issues like this. He said, "The things which are most important don't always scream the loudest." My love of libraries and my belief in their importance to all our communities is well ventilated and recorded in Hansard. My office door still proudly proclaims, from an old campaign corflute, "Labor loves local libraries".

Over the years I have worked with passionate library lovers from across our State, who have campaigned tirelessly and often without much media coverage about why libraries are needed in our communities. When in opposition, I recall watching those opposite try to match our policy of increasing base library funding. The policy was developed with advocates for local libraries, and the campaign was incredibly local and shaped by local communities. The result was a much‑needed increase in base library funding—a well‑earned win for our communities and libraries in New South Wales. The result of that local campaigning frankly shamed the then incumbent Coalition Government.

The specific issue the bill speaks to is the NSW Labor platform—the platform that I, as a member of the Labor Party, agree to uphold as an elected member of the Parliament. The platform states that NSW Labor condemns attempts to ban from local libraries books that promote diversity and inclusion and NSW Labor supports our libraries as places where LGBTQIA+ people can feel included, safe, supported and protected. I applaud the Minister for bringing the bill to our place for debate, for reflecting the values in our platform in our legislative agenda and for again demonstrating his commitment to the NSW Labor platform.

The bill ensures that local libraries across New South Wales may collect any library material that is available for collection and is not unlawful. That should be celebrated. Libraries are places of knowledge, community and inclusion. I witnessed firsthand all the ways that libraries in remote, regional and metropolitan parts of our State achieve that—providing English language classes, homework clubs, baking and tool‑lending services, library postal services, baby and children story time, spaces for different community groups to meet, IT and internet literacy classes to bridge the digital divide, and access to the internet—as well as the way librarians, library technicians and other library staff use their expertise to support members of their communities in myriad and unexpected ways that are responsive to community needs.

Enshrining in legislation measures to ensure that libraries can perform the important jobs of collecting any lawful library material is important. It means that local and small‑scale publications can be collected. It means that materials that reflect the interests of a community, show the history and changes of a community, and could challenge or extend people's understanding of the world can be collected. It means that members in our communities will be able to see themselves represented in the broad array of materials that are available and collected in their libraries. As a library lover, I applaud the Minister for bringing the bill to this place. Going back to the important issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer—without the collection of arcane and old reference books that Rupert Giles, the librarian, was lawfully able to collect to support Buffy in her quest to save the world, when he uttered the phrase "the earth is definitely doomed", it was also tempered by "I'd best head to the library. Research beckons." I commend the bill to the House.