GG 58/11
31 October 2011
Special Minister of State Gary Gray today unveiled a new national video conferencing network - the latest weapon in reducing government travel and greenhouse emissions and boosting productivity.
In a “virtual” meeting with CHOGM Taskforce chief Terry Crane in Perth as well as Telstra and Cisco representatives in Sydney and Melbourne, the Minister was advised that the taskforce used the system for nearly 200 hook-ups with Canberra and other centres to plan the international meeting of more than 50 world leaders.
The CHOGM taskforce saved at least $200,000 in travel and staff costs.
“We used the system and I just found it incredibly helpful – not just the cost savings to the Commonwealth but the time savings for staff,” Mr Crane said. “It meant I didn’t lose my people for two days or more at a time. It was fabulous.”
Mr Gray, who participated in the high-quality video link from the NTS studio at Parliament House, said the success of CHOGM largely lay in expert planning, and the National TelePresence System provided a very productive platform.
“The system simulates face-to-face meetings, using high quality spatial audio and high definition video on a secure network,” Mr Gray said.
“Since its launch in October 2009, the TelePresence system or NTS has expanded to 36 video conferencing sites across Australia.
“It is estimated to have already reduced travel and staff costs by $12 million, reduced carbon emissions by 2,330 tonnes and greatly increased productivity because of the time-savings involved.
“The NTS is part of the Australian Government’s strategic vision of increasing national productivity through Information and Communications Technology.”
Mr Gray said the system was used for inter-jurisdictional meetings, including the Council of Australian Governments and Ministerial Council meetings.
Plans for the National TelePresence System were announced in February 2009 as a joint initiative with Telstra and Cisco, deploying Cisco TelePresence units operating over the Telstra Next IPTM network.
The service was commissioned in October 2009 and connects seven Commonwealth government offices, Prime Ministerial and Cabinet offices, Parliament House and the offices of Premiers and Chief Minister agencies in every state and territory. Each capital city has at least two TelePresence facilities, typically a Commonwealth and a State or Territory facility.
A total of $13.8 million was allocated by the Commonwealth to fund the system and its operation over four years. Interstate jurisdictions had contributed an additional $4.6m to the project.
Federal, State and Territory governments have held 1031 official meetings over a total of 1660 hours.
“The greatest savings from a single meeting to date has been the Budget Review Committee Working Group meeting on August 30 held over 12 different locations which lasted 3.75 hours with calculated savings of $100,600 and 17.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide avoidance,” Mr Gray said.
He said over four years, it was anticipated the National TelePresence System would save at least $24 million.
“There’s a golden thread that runs through the Government’s ICT strategy and that is about being effective, efficient and lowering costs. The day-to-day benefits of being able to stay in your own state yet still undertake effective and collaborative decision-making brings significant improvements in productivity.
“The NTS is an excellent example of the Australian Government partnering with the private sector to deliver significant productivity benefits in the public sector.”
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