Thursday, 31 August 2023

Local history grants

Tim BULL (Gippsland East) presented a petition bearing 84 signatures:

This petition of residents in Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Assembly the withdrawal of funding for the Victorian Community History Awards and Local History Grants Program. History in Victoria receives so little support in the way of funding or recognition yet it is essential for many policies. Creative efforts are inspired by history, environmental projects are influenced by their history, planning is influenced by history and local communities are the front line custodians of collections and research. The Local History Grants Program ensures that the sustained work of over 350 volunteer driven heritage organisations continues to develop and contribute to the ongoing research into history. It is a small price to pay for thousands of hours of volunteer work that benefits the collective memory. The Community History Awards support historians, authors, creators, printers, designers and more. They also encourage deep investigation and truth telling as more resources become available. It is a small thing to seek recognition of the work done. There are no grand finals for historians to compete in – just years of work to reach an ultimate goal. Why should historians be denied their “Brownlow”?

The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Assembly direct that the Department of Government Services reinstate funding for the Community History Awards and the Local History Grants Program as administered by the Public Record Office of Victoria and Royal Historical Society of Victoria. They are critical to the ongoing growth and digitisation of the State’s archive that is in community hands.

Ordered that petition be considered next sitting day.