After months of petitioning, debate and a controversial consultation process, the Manor Lakes Library will not open on Sundays.
At the Tuesday 25 council meeting, an officer’s report recommending the library’s current opening hours remain the same was narrowly passed by councillors, six votes to five.
The opening hours at the library are 10am-6pm on weekdays (8pm on Wednesdays) and 10am-4pm on Saturdays.
Following residents petitioning the council, Cr Peter Maynard successfully motioned for a survey to gauge support for Sunday opening hours to be included in the 2025-26 budget at the June council meeting.
The survey was released in September and asked residents if they would prefer the library to open on Sunday instead of Saturday as part of a 12-month trial at an estimated cost of $80,000.
Cr Maynard said he was voting against the officer’s recommendation due to his belief that the survey question was manipulated.
“The CEO assured me that my request for the question asking for Sunday hours will be asked and not phrased such that it would be at the expense of the Saturday hours– as that was never the intention,” Cr Maynard said.
“The intent of this motion has been deliberately changed by officers to reflect something that I did not – in fact the opposite.“
More than 75 per cent of respondents voted to keep 10am-4pm on Saturdays instead of switching to 2-5pm on Sunday, however 145 of the 428 respondents criticised the binary choice.
Cr Maynard said voting it against it will make no practical difference but show his dissatisfaction with the process.
“But it indicates my distrust of the process and the way it was undertaken, “ he said.
“It is quite clear to me that this is the tail wagging the dog and my faith in the system at this moment is non-existent.”
Cr Mia Shaw said she had full faith in the process and the question posed was cost neutral. She believes the data indicates a preference for weekdays and Saturdays.
Cr Robert Szatkowski said it was a squandered opportunity to advocate for more funding from the state ahead of the 2026 election.
Wyndham chief executive Stephen Wall and city life director Liana Thompson declined to comment.
