Today I wrote to each of the candidates that are seeking to be elected in the seat of Lyons, this is what I asked of each of the candidates:
Can you inform us about your plans to support the restoration of Willow Court?
The restoration fund is inadequate to meet the needs of the site, what can you do about this?
Do you support the apology to the previous Patients of Willow Court?
I look forward to their response and will inform you as soon as I have a reply.
(R -L) Dick Adams (Labor), Pip Brinklow (Greens) and Eric Hutchinson (Liberal)
Dick Adams Replies:
Thank you for your email in relation to Willow Court.
I am already supporting the development of Willow Court and the Federal Labor Government has contributed funds towards securing the site. I will continue to assist where I can.
Restoration takes time and once there are projects put forward to Heritage Australia, I will support them to be funded.
The apology is a matter the State Government needs to address and in principle I would support it.
Dick Adams MP
Federal Member for Lyons
Pip Brinklow Replies:
Dear Mark,
Thank you for emailing me in regards to my thoughts on this important issue. Willow Court is a very important part of Tasmania’s built and social heritage and must be protected.
Plans to support the restoration of Willow Court. The Greens are strong supporters of the restoration and sensitive adaptive reuse of the willow Court buildings. I believe that within the complex the story of the people who were patients and workers at Willow Court ( and Royal Derwent Hospital) should be told, honestly but sensitively.
.
Inadequacy of current restoration fund. The current restoration fund is substantially inadequate. I understand that there are currently some funds available that are facilitating some work, however the amount is undisclosed. With the sale of the oval there will be some additional funding. As we do not support the sale of any further land or building it will be up to all levels of government to contribute to the restoration and management costs of the site. The Greens strongly urge all three levels of government to meet to agree on a ten year funding plan. The longer term plan must be to develop enough commercial activity to pay the ongoing maintenance costs of the site.
.
Support an apology. The Greens support and have been working towards a formal apology for those former patients who were not treated as well as they should have been against the standards of the day. We are cognisant of the feelings of former staff who assert that, to their knowledge, all patients were cared for in an appropriate manner, and feel that an apology is an accusation that their work in caring for residents was somehow inadequate. It needs to be acknowledged that the majority of staff operated to the highest ethical standards at all times and that an apology is not a slight on them. Our position is that an apology should occur as soon as possible, so that as many former patients as possible can be made aware of it.
Pip Brinklow,
The Greens House of Representatives candidate for Lyons
I would like to thank Dick Adams and Pip Brinklow for taking the time to reply, I did get a reply from Erick Hutchinson who wanted to phone me, I still look forward to that call and hope I can relay Erick’s answers to the group soon.
2 Comments
Not really surprised at his non-answers and non-commitment, given his previous lack of action around this and other issues in Lyons.
However, don’t believe that Eric Hutchinson is any better. Talking to him revealed a typical party drone who spouts the Liberal line regardless of how it might effect the region.
Securing the site was that back in the early 2000?
And yes, restoration doest ake time, but not all these years!!
Originally coming from the UK, there are thousands of sites that need help. One thing the government did was to make the lottery system help things like Willow Court, and many projects that would have been ignored, forgotten or fallen down have been wonderfully restored.This was done by making sure that a percentage of the money spent on buying a lottery ticket was donated to the lottery fund to help many projects from heritage, to art etc!!
Can I suggest that Mr. Adams looks at this and stops, making excuses.
I am voting for the very first time in my life here in Australia, and need to be certain who I am voting for. This reply certainly hasn’t made me want to vote for Mr.Adams!!!