Women Speak Tasmania (WST) members are this morning protesting outside Hobart Library in Murray Street over Libraries Tasmania’s ban on hiring out community meeting facilities to our organisation.
As reported by The Australian on 30 October 2025 (“Women’s group banned from Tasmanian libraries for ‘hate speech’”), WST has been permanently banned from hiring Libraries Tasmania meeting rooms for holding public meetings to discuss important issues concerning human rights legislation in Tasmania.
These issues include:
- The safeguarding of children from gender ideology in schools,
- The need for evidence-based medical care for young people, and
- The protection of sex-based rights for women and girls.
Attempts by WST to book library venues on four occasions have been rejected. Most recently, a request to hire a room at the Huonville Library for a community discussion on child safeguarding followed from many parents contacting WST concerned about gender ideology indoctrination in schools.
Staff informed the group that, under new booking procedures, all organisations must be “vetted for hate speech” before approval. New instructions to staff had been circulated to libraries on 25 September.
WST says the ban demonstrates an attack on free speech and a dangerous trend toward political censorship under the guise of inclusion and diversity policies.
Dr Elizabeth Caballero said:
“We are being prevented from holding discussions on publicly available evidence, for questioning harmful gender ideology in schools, and for advocating for women’s and LGB rights.”
“Libraries should be places of learning and open discussion — not censorship.”
WST calls on the Tasmanian Government to intervene in the implementation of Libraries Tasmania’s new vetting procedures and the subsequent ban on WST.
“At our meeting with the Attorney-General Guy Barnett in January this year, he stated: ‘I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’”
“Guy Barnett needs to step in and uphold women’s rights to political expression, freedom of belief, and robust debate on matters that concern human rights legislation.”
For Further Information contact Dr Elizabeth Caballero: [email protected]
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