Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to speak on tonight's grievance debate. Last Thursday, 8 September, I had the great honour of opening the new library building for Whitehorse City Council in Nunawading, in the middle of my electorate of Deakin. It was a particularly interesting project, being part of an election commitment made last July and now completed and being used by the public. In fact it has been open for the last few months.

It has been a great combination of three levels of government, and I suppose that is one of my enduring speeches out in the electorate: getting different levels of government to work together to deliver services for the people in those areas. Between the federal government, the state government and the local council we have a project that will benefit many thousands. I am told up to 150,000 people a year use that facility.

The old library was in the same place. It was a good building but was actually an old converted council office. What we have now is a modern, light and useful space for local constituents to come in and use—not just to borrow books, as libraries have always been there for, but also for the digital age that we now live in. There is a great deal of ICT equipment and various other items that can be used in the library. It is particularly good for people who do not have that sort of thing at home.

All up, the library cost $2.3 million, of which the federal government contributed $1.6 million. The Victorian government through the Living Libraries grant contributed $347,000. The Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation put in $200,000, and the Whitehorse City Council $152,000 along with the management of the project. As a result of those contributions, as I said, we have a fantastic result, something that I do not think was envisaged only a few years ago but now is there. I think this is an example of what can be done in the rest of the communities that make up the electorate of Deakin.

There are several other libraries of varying ages and they could also do with a makeover like that. It will not happen just with council resources, it will not happen just with state resources, nor will it happen just with federal resources. As I said, it needs a combination, and that combination can make these local projects work. There are eight libraries in all in the Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation and, although some of those are outside my electorate, I know many people from within my electorate do travel across the border and use those libraries as well. It was only in July last year that this building was promised as a election commitment.

Debate interrupted.

Main Committee adjourned at 21:45 .