Dear Senator,

I am very disappointed to hear that the National Archives will be closing their offices in Darwin, Adelaide, and Hobart over the next two years due to budget cuts. As an author I find this objectionable. The planned closures will make it harder for regional authors to research primary material. Will we have to fly to Canberra to conduct research? Because the NT was administered by the Commonwealth between 1910-1978 I understand the NAA also holds the records relating to the Stolen Generations. As well, the Adelaide office of NAA holds significant records relating to child migrants from the 1940s to 1960s – part of the ‘Remembered Children’ to whom the PM apologised recently (and promised to help with link-up networks). This move is disastrous for Indigenous people, archivists, librarians, genealogists, historians and many others and goes against all principles of equity in access to Commonwealth records. I am asking for your assurance that all NT records will remain in the NT, to be administered by NT Archives or another heritage body. Similarly other regional archives must remain in the regions to which they belong.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Mills

Alice Springs

Please register your condemnation of this decision with your local MHR or Senator and/or with Senator Joe Ludwig, the Minister responsible for National Archives, who may be contacted here