Sensational-Adelaide.com

Senator Hon Joe Ludwig
Cabinet Secretary and Special Minister of State
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Joe,

I am very concerned about the proposed closure of the National Archives' office in Adelaide from the end of 2010. The proposed closure will disadvantage users of this important national resource in South Australia.

I understand that the National Archives of Australia (the NAA) intends to relocate the South Australian records to Sydney. This follows an earlier relocation of a significant part of the South Australian material to Canberra and Melbourne. For users to access South Australian records in future it will therefore be necessary either to travel or to order digitised copies. Any travel may well involve trips to up to three other cities. Extended research interstate involves considerable expense, in terms of both travel and accommodation. Such costs will discourage original research using primary sources into South Australian history and will particularly discourage unfunded community researchers.

The Archives Act 1983 requires the Director-General of the NAA to consider; . the convenience of persons who are likely to equire access to the material; o the desirability of keeping related material in the same place; and o the appropriateness of keeping State or Territory material that relates in particular to that State or Territory or to places in that State or Territory when determining where archived material should be kept.

The Act clearly identifies, in my view, the importance of retaining records in their place of origin. The Act also recognises that the National Archives of Australia, as an agency, has an obligation to provide reasonable access to users in all states of Australia.

I have been informed that the NAA Director suggests that providing digital access is the preferred solution. However digitisation on request is very expensive. I am told the most recent NAA Annual Report makes the point that demand for records has fallen in South Australia specifically because of the cost of accessing digital copies (p.35, note to table 9). Current charges for digitisation are $16.50 for a file of up to 100 pages, and $38.50 for a file of over 100 pages. Research into a specific aspect of South Australian history may involve examining hundreds of files, such is the nature of historical research. Undertaking research using files digitised on request would inevitably involve considerable time and expense.

Further, much of the South Australian-related material is not yet listed on the Record search database. lt will prove difficult to discover such material to order either physically or online without knowledgeable local staff.

The relocation of such a service to Sydney would severely disadvantage Indigenous South Australians. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between National Archives and Nunkuwarrin Yunti on behalf of South Australian Indigenous people was signed in 2002. This MoU was put in place to assist South Australian Indigenous people to access Commonwealth records, responding to recommendations of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the 1997 Bringing Them Home report.

Additionally, currently people requiring proof of date of arrival in Australia for purposes including obtaining an Australian passport, making a citizenship application, or applying for a Centrelink benefit, can access the required information efficiently through the Adelaide office. Such information is often required urgently, particularly in the case of passport applications. The removal of such a service to Sydney would significantly disadvantage those seeking such documentation.

Lastly, the intended date for the launch of the National History Curriculum is 2011. The provision of appropriate supporting materials is vital to the success of this initiative. lt is also extremely important that this material is drawn from the nation as a whole. The closure of the Adelaide office would make it much harder to ensure that South Australia's contribution to the national story is adequately represented in curriculum support materials.

Since 2011 also marks 175 years of European Settlement in South Australia it is a most unfortunate decision

I urge you to reconsider the proposed closure of the Adelaide office.

MIKE RANN
Premier
29/1/2010

Will wrote:The National Archives are housed in a building in Angas Street in the city.

Currently every state and territory capital city has a branch of the National Archives. However, some faceless beaurocrat in Canberra decided that the offices in Hobart, Darwin and Adelaide should close.

I think this is a disgusting and offensive move. They are called the National Archives of Australia for a reason. They are not the National Archives of the East Coast!

bulldog13 wrote:Whlist not defending the decision, can we stop the "Canberra bashing". The decision was probably made after the Government cut the NAA budget, so with less money it had to close some offices. So blame the Government, not the workers in Canberra. Also it will mean people will be out of a job.

Archives stay on the record
This week the Federal Government backed away from an unpopular decision to close the National Archives office in Adelaide.
The office houses tomes of enormous books and ancient records. It is where researchers go to ply their craft and citizens search for their past. Until the announcement earlier this week, it was all to be moved interstate.

Director-General of National Archives of Australia Ross Gibbs resolved late last year to close not only the Adelaide office, but also those in Darwin and Hobart. The Federal Government had told him to cut the archives budget by $700,000 in the first year and then $1.4 million every year after that.

A diverse range of voices cried out after the announcement. Prominent among them was South Australian historian Peter Knife.

He said closing the office would have effectively stopped any “serious research” being done in SA. “Though they’re national archives there is a lot of state-based records held there and it is likely those who need to access those records come from South Australia,” he said.

Protests like Mr Knife’s were taken to parliament by politicians from across the political spectrum. Last November, Greens leader Bob Brown and Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young moved a motion in the senate to block the closures. Earlier this month, Liberal member for Mayo Jamie Briggs moved a similar motion in the House of Representatives.

Labor’s Kate Ellis, the Member for Adelaide, was lobbying within her own party. "Kate has heard the concerns of many local people on this issue. She has been active in ensuring that these views have been heard by the Minister responsible and will continue to put forward those views," said a spokesperson from Ms Ellis’s office last week.

On Tuesday, the Federal Government back-flipped, saying community pressure had forced it to rethink. “Each of these offices contains documents of particular significance to local historians, including Australian Antarctic missions in Tasmania and Colonial papers and migrant arrivals in South Australia,” said the Minister responsible for National Archives Joe Ludwig.

Instead of closing the Adelaide office and relocating records interstate, it will seek to co-locate the archives with another institution in SA.

“Co-location will help put the National Archives on a sustainable footing for the long term,” said Mr Ludwig.

Details of the co-location are yet to be finalised but the current office will remain open until a new home is found.

Mr Knife said it was an excellent outcome.

“I’m absolutely delighted. It’s an excellent solution all around and it won’t put South Australia at a disadvantage,” he said.

In some form, history will live on for South Australians.

Archives offices to combine

NATIONAL archives from South Australia will be moved to the State Records Centre in Adelaide, the State and Federal governments have announced.

The move comes after the Federal Government said last year it wanted to close the Adelaide branch of National Archives and move records interstate to save $3 million.

As part of the co-location, South Australian Colonial records moved interstate will also be returned to Adelaide.

Post, railway and customs records held in Sydney after being moved in 2000, will be returned to mark the State's 175th anniversary of settlement this year.

The move will allow academics, researchers, genealogists and students to access federal, state and local government archival records from the State Records Centre on Leigh St in the city.

Federal Minister Brendan O'Connor and SA Minister Paul Holloway announced the co-location at the centre.

"Once archives from all three tiers of government can be searched and accessed from the one site at Leigh Street in the city, this will create a convenient and efficient way for the public to gain the information they need," Mr Holloway said.

Mr O'Connor said it was appropriate to return Colonial archives back to SA.

"The agreement...will ensure South Australians can access a variety of government records from one convenient location," Mr O'Connor said.