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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-05-12 Daily Xml
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Local Government Services

Mrs POWER (Elder) (14:34): My question is to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government. Can the minister please update the house on the Marshall Liberal government's Roadmap for Easing COVID-19 Restrictions in terms of libraries and other local government facilities?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:35): I thank the member for Elder for her question. I know that this is something that is extremely important to her and her electorate. In case you didn't know—except I am sure you already do—the reopening of the Mitcham Memorial Library and Blackwood Library starts on Monday.

This is extremely important as we move back to try to open up our economy. It is also important that we look at the social infrastructure that is in place and how we help people to be able to go about their daily lives and to bring back some lower risk activities to enable people to get out and about. I want to thank councils for their efforts over the course of this crisis. The Premier and I have on a number of occasions met, under videoconferencing circumstances, with mayors and CEOs from right across this state. Those conversations unfailingly are well informed, they are conscious of the environment that we are in and the councils are also very keen to help be part of the effort to deal with coronavirus.

In this instance, the councils were extremely compliant and helpful in terms of closing their libraries and other facilities when they were asked to do so. Essentially, I want to congratulate councils on the speed with which, once the announcement was made on Friday, they have been able to respond, to be able to change the way that libraries and other facilities operate so that we can actually get on and provide a service in keeping with the restrictions and the social distancing requirements that are necessary.

As part of step 1, community halls and youth halls will start to open, local government libraries will start to open, some pools will start to open, as well as campgrounds and caravan parks. From 8 June, we will see other local government facilities like gyms and indoor fitness facilities open. What we have also seen is that for some councils their camping grounds or their caravan parks were able to remain open for essential travellers, but we know that there is a lot of revenue that councils have lost right across this state from not having those facilities open. But, with good grace, they still were helping us in the fight against COVID-19 to do what needed to be done.

We have seen libraries open under restrictions, including there only being allowed to be 10 people, excluding staff, no food or beverage for consumption in libraries—although I wouldn't say in the Barossa we would dare allow that anyway—as well as closing interactive exhibitions and removing toys. We have also seen some councils establish click or call-and-collect services for library items—an innovation that we see not only happening in our food and hospitality space but also coming to our libraries. Again, I want to thank councils for the way they have been innovative in helping to deliver services in this new environment.

They have also held story time on Facebook, including with the mayor. We have seen iconic books, such as Wombat Stew and We're Going on a Bear Hunt, being read out, and flooring maintenance, including polishing, also being done and new carpet being installed in the Mitcham Community Centre, making sure that whilst the libraries and those facilities were closed we got on and were able to make use of that time. In my own electorate of Schubert, I am looking forward to tomorrow when Nuriootpa, Angaston, Lyndoch and Mount Pleasant will be opening, and Tanunda will be reopening as of next Monday.

The local government sector has been a fantastic partner during COVID-19. We have worked together on this, on stimulus projects, on gazetting notices that allow local government to be able to function for themselves in other ways, and I look forward to that continuing well into the future as we all respond to this pandemic.

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