Page 3462 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Mr Hargreaves: You do not know what you said. Would anybody else like to tell him what he said?
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
MR PRATT: I withdraw Mrs Dunne. I insert Mrs Burke, the member for Molonglo. Mrs Burke is stricken by laryngitis and I will speak on her behalf. Mrs Burke points out that, as one of the members representing the community in this case, she was disappointed to hear of the Stanhope government’s intention to close the Griffith library. She points out:
One comment that strikes a chord is that residents feel a sense of deprivation, especially when this government made clear its intent to continue to maintain the Griffith library.
She goes on to say:
In part, the Griffith library is quite popular due to its ease of access, especially for children who live in the neighbourhood or attending schools in the area, as well as elderly residents.
This unique facility tends to draw users from all over inner Canberra. The Civic and Woden Libraries will not necessarily provide an adequate substitute for the Griffith library users who may be deterred from accessing the town centre libraries, as patrons may experience parking difficulties or time-consuming journeys experienced via our somewhat disparate bus services.
This MPI is the last possible way for the Liberal opposition, on behalf of its constituency, to persuade the government to revisit its decision.
Mrs Burke asks for details of the review that justify the minister’s decision to close the library. She asks:
Did the review really take into account the importance of essential services like libraries to small communities such as Griffith and its surrounds?
What mechanisms were observed to measure usage of the Griffith library? Were library user numbers monitored over a longer period or just in the short term? How was visitation measured to obtain an accurate snapshot of how visitors used the facilities or the number of books borrowed?
According to Mrs Burke, there is a valid point to be made here about our community libraries. We all know that people do not always access a library simply to borrow a book. Patrons often like to browse or read a book or magazine, photocopy a recipe or research a travel destination, just to name a few activities.
Mrs Burke is deeply concerned about what is happening to this library. What is going to happen? Will those who live in the inner south of Canberra so easily drive to Woden? Are they going to so easily drive to Civic to access their library services? The people of Narrabundah, Forrest, Manuka, Red Hill and Kingston like to be able to go down to their local community library.
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