2025-03-18
Greens MLA Andrew Braddock will this week call on the ACT Government to finally issue a strategic plan for Canberra’s public libraries, which is now six years overdue.
“Library staff are reporting burnout, being locked out of permanent jobs, and staffing levels are so low that we’ve seen libraries having to close this summer,” Mr Braddock said.
“This is affecting Canberrans who rely on our libraries for social connection, learning, internet access, or simply an air-conditioned space to escape from the heat and entertain children.
“Canberra’s libraries are crucial public spaces that are welcoming, inclusive, and provide incredible free services and resources to the growing number of people who are finding life in our city too expensive.”
The most recent strategic plan for libraries was released by Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury, when he was the Territory and Municipal Services Minister in 2015. That plan expired in 2019, and Labor has not released another one since.
Andrew Braddock, the ACT Greens Member for Yerrabi and spokesperson for City Services, will tomorrow call on Labor to finally release the next strategic plan, co-designed with ACT residents, libraries staff and the community sector.
“The absence of a strategic plan is keeping staff and the community in the dark about the future of ACT’s libraries, when three in five paid libraries staff told an internal survey that they’d experienced feelings of burnout,” Mr Braddock said.
“Whether it’s in Gungahlin, Tuggeranong or the city, libraries are important public spaces and services that Labor has left hanging for too long.
“In a climate crisis and a cost-of-living crisis, people all over Canberra need to know they can count on their local public library to be open and properly resourced,” Mr Braddock said.