To the editor, Star Mail.
We refer to your news article dated Tuesday 23rd May, entitled ‘Hills Photographic Society calls for changes to Hills Hub”.
We feel your article regarding the Hills Photographic Society’s concerns about the Hills Hub in Emerald does not entirely reflect our point of view.
The article concentrated on some minor issues regarding access and our exhibition which barely rated a mention in our submission. Our main issue and that of every club using the Hub is access, limited opening hours and most especially the decision to pull funding of the Placemaker, the officer who in the past was in attendance to assist the public for much longer than three hours a day.
The Hills Hub, built with Federal, State and local money, was to be a Community Centre to serve the public, not only those clubs, like ours, which hire meeting rooms. As for general community use, at present it is an underutilised, expensive folly.
We don’t know who the unidentified “council spokesperson” quoted in your article is, but he or she does not reflect the mood or feeling of the community and user groups. That person could well benefit from greater consultation with its users to comprehend the current dissatisfaction felt by many of them. Your article quotes the council spokesperson as claiming ‘extensive consultation’ was had prior to the decision to cut funding and opening hours, yet it does not question who the consultation was done by or with or when, or who was invited. It would have been helpful if the Star Mail had followed up on those questions. Will you now ask those questions and provide the community with the answers?
We feel the anonymous Council spokesperson has misrepresented the situation and simply glossed over the fact that the Hub is open for only fifteen hours a week.
On the other hand, we have consulted with other user groups, and every one we have contacted shares our frustration. This was apparent at the recent Community Expo, staged at the Hub on Saturday 2oth May.
In only five days we have gathered over two hundred signatories on a petition to Council, and presented it on Monday 22/5/23. It is testament to the angst felt in the community.
This is not an issue the council can just ignore; it will not go away.
Even Jeff Springfield, Ranges Ward Councillor has stated in response to an email from us that ” I personally think there is potentially good community benefit in implementing a satellite type operating model that would facilitate easier face to face community access to Council employees across the outer regions of our Shire. I also acknowledge that this would come with a greater operational expense.”
Allan Pan
Paul Bianco
Wayne Pollard
Hills Photographic Society
