Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Nazis infamously instigated the burning of books at universities all over Germany in May 1933. It was part of the drive to merge German cultural life with Nazi aims and beliefs. It was extreme, although not in comparison to the atrocities that were to come, and an example of the exercise of control over free thought and ideas. However, as Ray Bradbury said:

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

That is precisely what Cumberland City Council in Sydney tried to do in May when they banned the book Same Sex Parents by Holly Duhig from eight of its libraries. Such actions are unacceptable in Australia in 2024.

Historically, we have form in Australia when it comes to censoring books. From the 1920s onwards, books were often confiscated by customs officials who didn't like the look of the dust jacket. Many books which are now considered classics met this fate, such as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and DH Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho even received a ban in the early 1990s. Thankfully, the days of customs officials taking books out of people's bags are long over, but there is a worrying and increasing trend of removing books from library shelves or seeking to have them banned. Often the books on the banning hit list are by queer or non-white authors, people from marginalised backgrounds.

Individuals in marginalised groups are known to experience more mental challenges and have lower levels of wellbeing. By now I think we all understand the importance of wellbeing and how important it is for people to flourish in education, work and relationships. Feeling seen and understood positively affects wellbeing. But banning books has the opposite effect. Banning books takes away the voices of the authors; it tells them and their prospective readers that their experiences do not matter. One queer author talked about the negative effect on young people of banning books, 'I worry about the kids who are in these emotionally precarious positions, looking at the adults around them who want to treat them like they don't exist.' Another author says: 'Writing queer stories for children and teens is not about fame and fortune; it's about providing hope. It's about showing them that they're good, wonderful, lovable, natural just the way they are.'

It is worrying that book banning is a trend that has been increasing in the United States, where most of the 4,349 books banned in the second half of last year were books written by or about queer or non-white people. The most banned book in the United States is the graphic novel, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. It's shameful that this same book is the subject of a forthcoming decision in the Federal Court of Australia after an attempt to ban it from libraries in Logan.

Banning books is another aspect of the culture wars, and its battlefields are often our local libraries. Libraries are open to everyone and offer access to ideas, learning and imagination. As far as I understand it, it's not compulsory to take a book from a library. In our society, and in 2024, these should not be considered as dangerous concepts. The actions of those people seeking to ban books is also extremely concerning. The CEO of the Australian Library and Information Association describes people going into libraries, grabbing books off the shelves, reading them out loud and saying, 'These shouldn't be here!' They call librarians horrible names and threaten doxxing and physical violence. In many cases, these instances are part of coordinated campaigns—small battles in larger culture wars. They maybe small battles but they're dangerous attacks on social cohesion. They aim to isolate groups of people and divide communities.

Returning to Sydney: it was heartening that two weeks after Cumberland's official announcement of the ban, they reversed the decision to ban Holly Duhig's book. The public outcry and the 42,000 people who signed a petition against the ban no doubt clarified the council's thinking. At our best, society is kind, cohesive and inclusive—as we heard from the Governor-General today. More kindness in our society should always be something we strive towards. We should value and respect each other's experiences. This is what we should all be striving for. After all, there is something we can learn from each other, and picking up a book is a good way to start.

As the Minister for the Arts said, banning books takes things in the opposite direction and serves no-one. If we know of children who are having some challenges at school and if they can find that voice that speaks to them, whether it be in something as radical as To Kill a Mocking Bird or The Catcher in the Rye or books like that—books that have been banned in the US—why not have that helping hand offered from a book shelf or from a librarian selecting something for a kid? Banning books should not be a part of Australia in 2024.