This paper provides a brief survey of Australian newspaper publishing history and describes the National Library's Australian newspaper holdings. Its newspaper collection policy and some of the national issues and initiatives being undertaken to ensure access to and preservation of Australian newspapers are outlined. Highlights include: retention and preservation issues; progress with NPLAN (National Newspaper Preservation Plan); the National Library's retention and preservation policy; repatriation issues; cooperative microfilming projects; and the Australian Cooperative Digitisation Project, including methods employed and outcomes. Appendices include excerpts from the National Library's collection development policy regarding newspapers and the National Library policy on the retention, preservation, and repatriation of Australian newspapers, including guidelines related to retention in hardcopy, preservation action, repatriation of hardcopy newspapers in the library's collection, preservation standards, preservation storage for newspapers, microfilming standards, preservation storage for microfilm, cooperative microfilming, use of national library cold store for storage of masters, and discard of hardcopy newspapers. (MES)