Tonight I moved a motion in the House of Representatives calling on the Rudd Government to reverse the decision to close the South Australian National Archives Office on 31 March 2011.

 

Archives are an important source of primary information for researchers and academics and more recently have made valuable contributions to the work of genealogists and South Australians piecing together their family histories.The office contains records of great significance to South Australians.

 

The Adelaide office provides South Australians with access to important Australian Government records including information on government decisions, migrant arrivals and residencies and on war services and casualties.

 

Searching through our past is often the best way to plan for the future and the state archive office provides the foundations for this.

 

The South Australian National Archives Office houses records significant to our State’s history and I call on the Government to immediately reverse the decision for its closure.