THE fight to ensure a fair go for local libraries is being taken to the top.
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Leeton Shire Council has endorsed its support of the NSW Public Libraries Association and Local Government NSW in their advocacy to the state government regarding a lack of funds for local libraries.
Libraries had been expecting a funding boost in this year’s State Budget, but were left begging with no extra money allocated to them.
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Already, much of the funding to keep a library running, such as the one in Leeton, is having to be handled by local government.
Councillor Michael Kidd has thrown his support behind the town’s library, saying funding had reached a crisis point.
“This is an historic issue that has been ignored by successive NSW governments,” he said.
“NSW public libraries receive the lowest per-capita funding from their state government compared to all other states in Australia.”
“NSW councils are currently paying 92.5 per cent of the costs to operate public libraries, up from 77 per cent in 1980.
“In 2015-16, NSW state government funding for public libraries was only $26.5 million compared to a contribution of $341.1 million from local government.
“NSW councils are paying 12 times more than the state government to provide library services to their communities.”
Council will be lobbying the relevant state government ministers, as well as Member for Murray Austin Evans regarding the issue.
In the last financial year, council spent more than $450,000, consisting of $67,901 in capital expenditure and $382,309 in operating expenditure to provide library services to the Leeton community.
The 2018-19 State Budget delivered a 5 per cent cut to current library funding and cut access to all infrastructure funding for metropolitan areas.
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