Gordon White Library Services To Continue Under Council Budget Plan

Mackay Regional Council has confirmed there will be no changes to the Gordon White Library as part of its 2026–2027 Budget, following months of community discussion surrounding the facility’s future.

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The decision comes after strong feedback from local residents, with many community members voicing their desire to see the Gordon White Library remain open and continue providing services to the area. Council has acknowledged the community’s concerns and confirmed that library services will continue while further planning takes place.

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Council has allocated nearly $1 million in the 2026–2027 Budget to establish the new Northern Beaches Community Hub and its anchor tenant library, while maintaining existing services at Gordon White Library.

As part of the next steps, a full review of council’s library services will be undertaken in the coming months. The review will examine future operating models, with a report expected to be presented to council in September or October.

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Mayor Greg Williamson said these models would explore options for how council could reduce impacts on future budgets. 

“Without any major staff increases, we will have to find efficiencies across our various library and other services,” he said. 

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Mayor Williamson said council had heard residents’ concerns about a plan to repurpose the Gordon White Library as a community centre, with a limited library service. 

“We’ve had about 1200 feedback form responses and about 1500 signatures from locals on a petition, and those responses are mostly telling us that Gordon White is a valued meeting place for residents to socialise and support the early development of their children,” he said. 

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“We have listened and reviewed all the feedback and we will prioritise the services residents value most in both the Gordon White Library and the Northern Beaches. 

“There will be no cut in library services in 2026-2027. Instead, there is additional funding of $950,000 in the budget to increase these services.” 

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Council CEO Gerard Carlyon said council was working on strategies to manage significant cost pressures caused by rising depreciation, which had increased by $5.92M this year to $107.89M. 

“As council brings new assets online and continues to manage aging assets, depreciation costs continue to increase,” he said.   

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“With that in mind, we have a Building Utilisation Project which is under way to review ways we can better use all of our existing staff accommodation buildings.”   

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Mr Carlyon said council was still considering the sale of the freehold Northern Beaches Community Hall site once the Northern Beaches Community Hub was open.  

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“We will also be looking at our office accommodation, with a plan to reduce council’s office buildings in the future to help drive down operating, maintenance and depreciation costs,” he said. 

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Image for illustrative purposes only. Image source: Mackay Regional Council  

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