Thursday, 2 May 2024

Library funding

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (18:53): (866) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Local Government, and it concerns the need to increase funding for public libraries across Victoria. The action that I seek is for the minister to allocate an additional $4.5 million over the next three years to the Living Libraries infrastructure program and to increase the public libraries funding program by $15 million over the three years.

Victoria is the Education State, and for many the love of learning is first kindled in a public library, where children are enchanted by storytelling and discover new adventures while browsing the shelves. For the curious, a library is an endless resource that can entertain as well as inform. Public libraries are about more than just loaning out books; they offer literacy education to kids and adults who want to improve their reading as well as to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. They support vulnerable people who need help getting on the internet to lodge a form, make an application or pay a bill. They help people to access information about government services and find employment assistance. They support and promote Australian authors and facilitate connections and networking among local creatives and aspiring writers. They hold events and provide space for community groups to gather and meet and invite speakers and host forums to discuss important local developments.

Public libraries do all this and more, including hosting the Legislative Council in Echuca a couple of weeks ago. They are especially important in regional areas like my electorate, where towns do not always have commercial bookstores or conference rooms, yet their ability to continue providing these vital services is under threat. I was recently contacted by Suzanna Sheed, who is now the chair of Goulburn Valley Libraries but is also well-known to the current government. She advised me that the state Labor government has recently cut in half funding for library infrastructure. This will seriously jeopardise the future success of the public library network. Our population is growing. Provision of infrastructure and amenities must keep pace, or else services like libraries will be overwhelmed and eventually run down.

We also need new libraries in growth areas like the City of Whittlesea. It is imperative, therefore, that the government takes seriously the requests from library leaders all over the state to increase funding. Ms Sheed asked that the government allocate an additional $4.5 million over the next three years to the Living Libraries infrastructure program so that we can build new libraries as well as upgrade and extend existing ones. Ms Sheed also asked for an increase of $15 million over three years to the public libraries funding program, which is essential for maintaining and enhancing the ongoing operation of vital library services. These funds will also be important to assist in providing new libraries in growth and interface areas like the City of Whittlesea, where new libraries are desperately needed to keep up with population growth and demand.