Senator J Ludwig

Parliament House

CANBERRA    ACT   2600

16 November 2009

Dear Senator,

I write on behalf of the Professional Historians Association PHA (NSW) which was formed in 1985 as a professional association for practising qualified historians. It is a member of the national body Australian Council of Professional Historians Associations Inc. which has established standards of accreditation.

Many members of PHA (NSW) are concerned about the proposed closure of the National Archives offices in Darwin, Adelaide and Hobart scheduled to begin next year, and also proposed cuts to the funding for archives in other states.

Access to and assistance with national archives is essential for understanding Australia’s past. The Federation is barely a century old and already it is planned to close archives in three states. How will this assist people in South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory to access their records without incurring inhibiting travel expenses?

Our members are regular users of the files held in the NAA and appreciate the skill and professional assistance which is provided by the staff. While online digitised files can be provided in some instances, this can prove a cumbersome and possibly fruitless method of research, if files cannot be sighted. Historians need to immerse themselves in records in order to understand the flavour of the times and topic, they derive their understanding from this experience.

I am perplexed by the idea of relocating national archives to ‘other sympathetic local cultural heritage institutions.’ Would such organisations be able to manage the archives appropriately, surely that is why National archives have been created. Also how will they be funded for this extra work?

I urge you to carefully reconsider this idea.

Yours faithfully

 Original Signed By

Virginia Macleod, President PHA (NSW)