Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Petitions

Rainbow libraries toolkit

The PRESIDENT: Before I call the first speaker on this, and I hope the people in the gallery can hear me clearly, it is fantastic that people are interested enough in the proceedings of this Parliament to actually make an effort to come in here and listen in person. I have zero tolerance on audience participation to the point that previously I have just walked out, and the day is finished and the debate has not gone ahead. I thank you for all being here and being at our Parliament, but please if you could consider what I have said and let the MPs speak, who have a right to say things that you might not like, on both sides of the chamber, that would be fantastic. In saying that, I am saying to the members, when you do your contribution you do it to the Chair, you do not do it to the gallery.

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (17:45): I move:

That the petition be taken into consideration.

Last year I had the privilege of tabling a petition with 4733 signatures, resolutely opposing the introduction of the rainbow toolkit in Victorian libraries. The toolkit is a scheme to encourage library staff to avoid gendered language, wear pronoun badges and ask children as young as five what their preferred pronouns are. It pushes for books on gender diversity in children’s collections and doubles down on Victoria’s strange fixation with drag story time events. It is just another example of the gender ideology that has become a pervasive and toxic influence across the western world, an ideology which despite its outward-seeming success in capturing people’s minds is extremely hollow at its core. It is completely subjective in a world that is objective. What is a woman? An adult human female. What is a man? An adult human male. What is a little girl? A young female child. What is a little boy? A young male child. This toolkit is not just a quirky distraction, it is a deliberate move by Premier Allan’s government to prioritise social engineering over the real issues plaguing our state: a crumbling economy, a union-choked construction sector, an energy outlook that gets bleaker by the day and now criminals waltzing out on bail. Would not this expenditure be better directed at ensuring our children, regardless of their pronouns, learn how to read, write and add up?

I fundamentally reject this. It is behaviour policing dressed up as compassion, and it is nonsense. Minister Horne claims it is about ensuring LGBTQIA+ people can use libraries, saying the toolkit ensures all Victorians have a place in our public libraries, because libraries are a space that everyone should be able to access. Now, nobody would wish any library visitor, young or old, to feel unwelcome, but was that ever really happening? Were our libraries really staffed by ignorant, uncaring ogres who need government direction to make children feel welcome? A library is a library. It should be welcoming to everyone. But that does not mean tying ourselves in knots to cater for every identity under the sun. Treating people differently based on subjective labels is not inclusive, it is divisive. For every rare soul who might feel validated by pronoun questions, do we truly believe a five-year-old has the faintest clue what these questions mean? I cannot help but feel that insecurities about identity popularised by this way of thinking contribute to the declining mental health of our young people. Our obsession with identity does not empower children, it plants seeds of doubt and insecurity. Parents should not have to worry that a trip to the library might leave their children questioning realities they are too young to grasp.

[NAME AWAITING VERIFICATION]

I just received a message from Sandy, who told me she is a grandma who can no longer take her grandchildren to the library after her four-year-old granddaughter saw a book with an illustration of a pregnant man. She asked Sandy if her daddy – that is, Sandy’s son – had a baby in his tummy. Do we really need books like this in our children’s libraries?

I was proud to table this petition. The 4733 signatures represent thousands more Victorians – parents, grandparents and everyday people – saying enough is enough. Actually, it only required 2000 handwritten signatures to qualify for this debate. So concerned were Victorians that they delivered over double that amount in under 30 days. Have no doubt: this toolkit is not about inclusion. It is a political weapon for ideologues to demonstrate their virtue, to identify opponents and to label them as bigoted, uncaring and unpleasant, all the while doing nothing for child welfare. Instead we should rely on the common sense and caring we have inherited from generations of parents, relatives and friends.

Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:50): I rise to speak on the disgraceful motion that has been put before us by Mrs McArthur today. This motion lacks charisma, it lacks uniqueness, it lacks nerve and it lacks talent. It also lacks facts. For one, there is no mention of five-year-olds in the toolkit. It is not some grand conspiratorial scheme to indoctrinate or to social engineer, as those opposite outrageously claim. It does not, for example, encourage or force children to use any pronouns they are not comfortable with. The rainbow libraries toolkit is, very simply, an optional resource that libraries may use that covers things such as database management, membership records, cataloguing processes and inclusive language. It also discusses security protocols that are only necessary because of the attacks on libraries that have occurred over the last couple of years, including threats of violence and threats that have been made against libraries merely for running rainbow-themed events.

This is about queer people being able to hold onto the same space as anyone else and being exactly as we are and who we are, because everyone deserves that. This petition is worded to sow division and to import Trump-style culture-war rubbish. Whatever its proponents will claim as they attempt to justify it, its effect will be to attack gay, trans and other queer people in this state. This is what the Liberal Party brings to this chamber today. Even John Pesutto said that a party he leads would not tolerate hateful and divisive rhetoric. This is a standard that has clearly been lost at sea. You can march in Pride and you can go on Joy FM, but if you support this motion today, you are slapping us in the face. We are at an inflection point on this motion today. We can choose intolerance, division and hate or we can choose tolerance, love and respect for individual liberties. I hope that we opt for the latter.

Today we are joined by members of our LGBTIQA+ community, including members of our trans community, many of whom have faced more hardship than I can comprehend. Their strength and their tenacity inspire me. I am proud of them and I am proud to stand with them. I also stand with Premier Jacinta Allan when she says:

Hard-right extremists who want to take notes from the MAGA movement will have to first contend with me … and with the vast majority of Victorians.

I utterly oppose this lamentable motion, because in Victoria equality is not negotiable.

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:53): I am going to be quite direct here. What we are debating is a proposal to provide less support to libraries and to offer fewer inclusive spaces and services for rainbow families – and for all families, for that matter. In my contribution from the Greens here today I instead suggest that we should be focusing on what more we can be doing here in this state to make sure that queer and gender-diverse young people feel safe and welcome everywhere in our community.

Libraries are wonderful places. Librarians do great work out there in our community. The rainbow toolkit came about because library staff were increasingly being targeted. People were protesting and harassing their innocent, entirely age-appropriate drag story time and other rainbow family events. Libraries were receiving hate calls and harassment, and they needed these tools to deal with this behaviour and to make sure that they were making libraries welcoming for the LGBTIQ+ community and for young people and their families. I wholeheartedly support this toolkit to further assist them in this work.

So often we hear mention of these terrifying pronouns. In case there is confusion about what these are, let me assist: I, she, him, you, whom, thy, ye, thine, whomst; each other – that is a reciprocal pronoun; everyone, nobody, anyone – these are indefinite pronouns. Now, I am wondering which of these we need to prevent library staff from using when talking to young people. Personally, I would vote ‘ye’ – that is ‘ye’, not ‘yeet’. Asking a young person, or asking anyone, actually, how they would like to be referred to is an entirely reasonable and respectful thing to do. Providing books to children that reflect all types of families benefits kids in rainbow families, but actually, it benefits all children.

Offering events and celebrations at our libraries enriches our whole community. Two in three LGBTQI+ people still experience abuse just for being who they are, so displaying rainbow flags, running queer family friendly events and respecting diverse gender identities are still vitally important things to do in our state. And libraries should absolutely be playing a role in providing these things. Let us make our community one that is more inclusive. Let us celebrate each other for who we are – everyone, anyone, thy, thine, whomst.

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (17:56): I thank my colleague Bev McArthur for bringing this petition to the house. It is incredibly important that this issue is debated. I have been contacted about it quite a lot, and I know Mrs McArthur has as well. But I first want to address some comments that were made by the Minister for Equality this morning on the doors with regard to this petition. She made comments saying that my party have not supported me since coming out, and I refute those comments utterly and completely. I have never spoken to this minister before. I would not even know her to talk to. She has never contacted me, and I wish she had reached out to me before trying to speak on my behalf or label me or incorrectly criticise my colleagues, who, like me, do not put identity politics above logic and reason. Maybe she dislikes the fact that there are people in the LBGTIQA+ community that disagree with her views. Here is a fact for the minister – not all people in the LGBTIQA+ community think the same. The minister and indeed the government are not the sole advocates for LGBTIQA+ people. We are individuals – stop grouping us all together – which is why I am supportive of this petition.

Conversations around gender and sexuality are for families to have at a time of their choosing. Rainbow toolkits are designed to equip library employees with the skills to talk about inclusivity, plan inclusive events, make library spaces visibly inclusive, and change book collections to ‘better meet the needs of diverse rainbow communities’. That is according to the August 2024 media release from the government. Let me say this categorically: discussions about sexuality, gender and identity are conversations for families, individuals and qualified professionals. They are not for library staff, especially as a first point of contact.

Libraries should be safe spaces for everyone, and for goodness sake, they are places where you might want to borrow a book, use the computer or undertake research. I understand there are people from the LGBTIQA+ community who are in extremely difficult circumstances regardless of if they are out or not. This might be due to family, cultural or religious reasons, and I fully accept that. But if you want to support those people that are under significant challenges, wouldn’t it be better to offer perhaps medical assistance, counselling services or even crisis housing support, especially for those escaping those difficult challenges?

Why has the government decided to equip libraries with toolkits? It is the wrong solution to the wrong problem. Public libraries are accessible to all people, including children as young as five – young children. The government wants to enable conversations about sexuality and gender diversity between library staff and young people. If nothing else, don’t you think that is a little bit strange? The best thing you can do to support LGBTIQA+ people is to not make sexuality and gender identity more of an issue than they need to be. So what if somebody is a lesbian or gay or trans or straight? Who actually cares? The more the government makes of this issue with programs like this, the more it becomes an issue. Leave private matters to be private. Let people just be people. Libraries should be just normal, neutral buildings like any other building that anyone else goes into. The government always says that equality in Victoria is non-negotiable. I can tell you right now: equality in Victoria is entirely negotiable. If you accept that everyone in Victoria is diverse, with variances in language, religion and indeed sexuality, nobody can be truly equal, and the government should not try and force it. People are people. Let us be who we are. Get out of our lives, get out of our libraries and let us get on with our lives as we choose to.

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (18:01): In my inaugural speech in this place I referred to my librarian and just how much I thought of her and how I think of her so frequently even now in my late 40s, and in making my contribution today it is with love and respect to every librarian who has ever helped someone like me, a little kid like me who wanted to make a space, create a space and find a space that was safe and inclusive. With that, My Shadow Is Pink, written and illustrated by Scott Stuart. Do we need books like this in libraries, Mrs McArthur? Yes, we do.

For Colin. You are loved, exactly as you are.

My dad has a shadow that’s blue as can be, and there’s nothing but blue in my whole family tree.

But mine is quite different

it’s not what you think

For mine is not blue …

My shadow is PINK!

My shadow loves ponies and books and pink toys, princesses, fairies, and things not for boys

But there’s one thing it likes most I have found …

It loves wearing dresses and dancing around!

It spins …

and it sparkles …

and it twirls through the air!

Then stops as my dad walks in with a glare.

It will turn blue one of these days

Don’t worry …

it is just a phase.

Dad’s shadow is blue, it is big, it is strong. But when I stand with it I just feel so wrong.

I wish mine was blue like all of the others, I wish mine was blue like my Dad’s and my brothers.

I’d be part of the group, of that there’s no doubt, but I cannot fit in when my shadow stands out!

Now things are all changing and that is not cool. I’m ready to start my first day at school

YOU’LL NEED:

• pencils

• and books

• and lunch you must bring.

DRESS UP

with your shadow! (in its favourite thing)

My heart skips a beat as I put on a dressand I look at my Dad who is anxious and stressed.

He takes me to class and I turn to say bye. His face is all worried, there’s fear in his eyes.

So I step in the doorway and puff out my chest … One thing is clear … I’m not like the rest.

I try to say hi but my voice is too quiet.

The kids turn around and the room, it goes silent.

I run out the door and I push past my Dad

I run to my house feeling angry and sad.

If my shadow was blue I’d be there making friends. I’d be laughing and playing and drawing with pens.

I rip off my dress throw it down to the floor. I won’t wear it again. Not ever. No more.

Just then at my door came a soft little knock …

It’s my Dad walking in and I look up in shock.

Both he and his shadow in dresses they stood!

With shimmering seams and pink sparkling hoods!

He speaks in a voice that’s quite soft but is stern.

Pick up that dress! You must listen and learn.

Your shadow is pink. I see now it’s true.

It’s not just a shadow, it’s your inner-most you.

He showed me the photos of parents and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and others.

We’ve all had a shadow that’s hidden from eyes.

Sometimes our shadow, it lives in disguise.

His shadow loves painting and fashion and art.

Her shadow loves engines and powerful cars.

His shadow loves dance with its turns and its twirls.

Her shadow she hides it, her shadow like girls.

His shadow loves theatre and acting and plays.

Her shadow loves science and planets and space.

Your shadow is YOU and pink it will be,

so stand up with your shadow and yell THIS IS ME!

And some they will love you …

and some they will not.

But those that do love you they’ll love you a lot.

So put on that dress and get back to school,

if someone won’t like you then THEY are the fool.

My heart nearly burst and my shadow it soared!

I picked up the dress and wore it once more.

We ran out the door, this time holding hands.

My Dad and our shadows,

together we stand.

I stride in my class and I puff out my chest,

I may be different but different is best.

I join a small group, though in I don’t blend, they look up and smile.

Will you be our friend?

This was written for Colin. It was written for Scott’s child. Children everywhere need and deserve space and opportunities to find themselves, to find universes, including in libraries, that create that space. I was one of those kids. I found space in libraries. Librarians change and save lives every day. This toolkit is to assist them in doing that work.

We had a drag story time here at Parliament a couple of years ago because there was no space for drag artists to undertake that work in the broader community, because it had been shut down by people who do not think there should be space. It was here in this Parliament that books like this were read. It was here in this Parliament that debate and passage of legislation occurred to make and create and sustain space and safety.

Mrs McArthur, I will come back in my closing to one of the sentences in your contribution: do we really need books like this in our libraries? And the answer, Mrs McArthur, I would say to that question, is ‘Absolutely’.

Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:06): I rise to speak to this motion today. Last night I spent a bit of time going through a hard copy of the rainbow toolkit. I am a little perplexed as to why we are here today. I do not believe that the other side has actually read the toolkit, because what is in there is not anything that is referred to in this petition. This is quite perplexing to me.

The petition requires that the government withdraw the rainbow libraries toolkit rollout from Victorian public libraries. Again, I find this fascinating, because surely as the employer of libraries the government is required to provide guiding materials to allow employees, in this case librarians, to perform their duties to the best of their ability and to ensure that they are providing a safe environment for people accessing services. I want to make this comparison: is this any different to any other public institution? Is it any different to a hospital staff member being provided training on culturally safe practices for CALD community patients? I would argue it is not. It is no different.

The reality is rainbow families are part of our community, and they are a growing part of our community. They should be celebrated, and the children of rainbow families should feel safe going into a library and they should see books that include them. This goes without saying for people who are culturally diverse; they should see books in libraries that represent who they are as well. Women, we should see books in libraries that are our stories. This is the reality of the society that we live in.

The rainbow toolkit came about because library staff were surveyed as to what their needs were. The outcome of that and the feedback that was provided was essentially what is in this toolkit. Also, community members and organisations were provided the opportunity to provide advice as well to encourage information on what made them safe and welcomed. But I must also emphasise that this was following the protest against drag story time events and it was in response to staff and patrons feeling unsafe. In particular in the area I represent, in the south-east, we saw events shut down in Casey and Monash. A Chelsea cafe is no longer there because it decided to host an Easter egg story event and that got shut down.

But I will reflect on some of the media that was reviewing those events during that period of time. It astounds me that it turned into violent threats. It astounds me that several events were forced to be shut down because families and children were threatened with violence. The particular event that I am referring to here in the media was around the Oakleigh library and Monash council, and it was on a specific day, 18 May, which is IDAHOBIT – the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. I just find it astounding. If you are not wanting to take your children along to these events, simply do not take them. But if rainbow families in particular want to have an opportunity to have a safe space for family to be celebrated, they should have that opportunity to celebrate, particularly on a day that is so pivotal to our community. The bottom line is that is that no-one should feel unsafe at work, and that is where this feedback came about.

Just to hurry myself along, the next part of the petition refers to people feeling ‘uncomfortable, insecure and confused’ by being approached in a library by potentially a librarian who is wearing a pronoun badge – I am quite unsure of that. But I do say in response to that that looking at the toolkit, all I could find in there was gender-neutral language like ‘Hi, folks’ instead of ‘Hi, Sir’ or ‘Hi, Madam’ – I hate being called ‘madam’. I do not know about you, Mrs McArthur, but I would rather have someone greet me with ‘Hi, folks’. Essentially I just want to reiterate: who is this hurting? Because it is not really hurting anyone who is going into these libraries and experiencing that. It is as simple as wearing a badge or having those conversations around, ‘Who are you here to see today?’ and not making assumptions about people. I would think time would be better spent going into Kmart and demanding that they take bikinis off the shelves for five-year-olds, because I think that is more indoctrinating than a library toolkit.

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (18:11): It is no secret that this Labor government is so ideologically driven that it is completely out of touch with regular Victorians. The latest institution it has politicised is public libraries. The government’s controversial rainbow toolkit shows the basic lack of understanding of the essence of public libraries and a disrespect for the role they play in communities. Public libraries funded by the taxpayer should be centres for exploration, discovery and learning, places where people from all walks of life can access information on a wide range of topics, with various perspectives on offer in a politically neutral environment.

The toolkit corrupts these principles. It guides library staff to inject deeply personal issues of gender identity and sexual orientation into libraries through LGBTIQA+-orientated conversations, resources, language and activities. Among its guidelines are recommendations to ask staff and people, including young children, what their gender pronoun is, keeping in mind that that can evolve from visit to visit. It directs library staff to avoid gendered language, so the words ‘boys’, ‘girls’, ‘he’, ‘him’, ‘she’, ‘her’ are discouraged. It also encourages more books on gender diversity and rainbow themes and the promotion of highly controversial drag queen story time events. This politicisation of libraries to suit the government’s obsession with all things sex and gender undermines the essence of what public libraries should be.

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (18:13): I thank everybody for their contributions today. I particularly thank my colleague Joe McCracken, who gave a very powerful contribution about his place in the world as a gay man. I know these things are difficult, but I thank Joe for understanding what so many people who remain silent about this are thinking. I also thank my friends Michael and Harriet. I loved you reading out that poem, Harriet. That was very powerful, so thank you. But libraries should foster curiosity and a love of reading, not serve as testing grounds for radical agendas, so I stand with the silent majority, the thousands who signed that petition – some watching at home now, some in the gallery – and I urge Parliament to scrap this counterproductive nonsense.

Let children be children, free to explore the world without being prodded about pronouns or sexuality before they can even tie their shoes. Let parents parent, and let libraries be libraries. I reject any notion that this is about intolerance or indifference or hate, and to allege that is disingenuous. We all care for everyone. Libraries need to be safe places, yes, but quiet places of reflection where children especially can read and learn.

Council divided on motion:

Ayes (14): Melina Bath, Gaelle Broad, Georgie Crozier, David Davis, Moira Deeming, Renee Heath, Ann-Marie Hermans, Trung Luu, Bev McArthur, Joe McCracken, Nick McGowan, Evan Mulholland, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell, Richard Welch

Noes (22): Ryan Batchelor, John Berger, Lizzie Blandthorn, Katherine Copsey, Enver Erdogan, Jacinta Ermacora, David Ettershank, Michael Galea, Anasina Gray-Barberio, Shaun Leane, Sarah Mansfield, Tom McIntosh, Rachel Payne, Aiv Puglielli, Georgie Purcell, Harriet Shing, Ingrid Stitt, Jaclyn Symes, Lee Tarlamis, Sonja Terpstra, Gayle Tierney, Sheena Watt

Motion negatived.