By Jaidyn Kennedy
Residents are calling on Wyndham council to extend the opening hours of Manor Lakes Library to include four hours on Sunday.
Local parents Sean and Veronica Row said the library’s current open hours, 10am-6pm (8pm Wednesdays) on weekdays and 10am-4pm on Saturdays, make it difficult for families to access the library.
“People who work full-time don’t have access to the library during the week, and a lot of people have swimming lessons, sports and family time on Saturdays,” Ms Row said.
According to Ms Row, travelling to the Hoppers Crossing and Tarneit libraries is not always practical for themselves and other families they know.
“The kids want to go on Sunday, but it’s not always practical to sit in traffic,” she said.
“It’s stressful to find parking at the plaza (Hoppers Crossing), and the next closest is Tarneit – which is just too far for us.”
Mr Row said the library offers children and teens something other than sport to participate in on a Sunday.
“If you don’t like sports in this area or going to a park there’s really not much else for kids to do in the area,” he said.
“You also have a lot of high school kids that might not be able to study at home due to various circumstances.”
Mr Row said the couple has written to council about the matter.
“Council have pretty much said they are not going to open on Sunday, so we are at the point where we have to try and get people to help advocate for us.”
“Obviously we asked the question and we got an answer which was pretty wish washy.”
A Wyndham spokesperson said council would like to provide Sunday opening hours for all its library locations but is unable to due to funding restraints.
“Over the years, the state’s contribution has declined to just 17 per cent, leaving councils to cover the remaining 83 per cent, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the shift has created significant financial and operational challenges for the council and the current funding model does not reflect the diverse needs of the community.
Local Government Minister Nick Staikos was contacted for comment.
