Paper Petition

The petition of citizens of Queensland draws to the attention of the
House that Townsville Community Music Centre which has been operating in
the Townsville/Thuringowa and broader regions of North Qld for 21 years
has this year been notified that it will not receive operational funding
through Arts Qld beyond 31/12/04. Apart from the subsequent job losses
this will also mean the loss of vital Arts Infrastructure in the region.
It is acknowledged that the Townsville Community Music Centre has had
difficulties recovering from the illness and death of our long time and
much respected Executive Officer, Ms Mary-Lou Schonfeldt, and was
therefore not as competitive-as others in the triennial funding round,
however, the decision to cease our operational funding will mean that we
also lose her legacy and that is intolerable.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to ensure that we do not
lose this asset to our community by providing adequate operational
funding for the full three years of this funding round and all the
assistance necessary to allow the Townsville Community Music Centre to
recover from its recent and anomalous difficulties.