[LINK] Environment Department Wasting Energy on Letters

[Tom Koltai]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: link-bounces at mailman1.anu.edu.au 
> [mailto:link-bounces at mailman1.anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of Tom Worthington
> Sent: Sunday, 31 January 2010 10:12 AM
> To: Link list
> Subject: [LINK] Environment Department Wasting Energy on Letters
> 
> 
> In early January I sent an email message to the Minster for 
> Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts suggesting Internet 
> enhanced meetings for post-Copenhagen climate change 
> negotiations: 
> <http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2009/12/internet-enhanced-meeting
> s-for-post.html>.
> 
> Two weeks later I received an anonymous reply in the form of an email 
> message with a facsimile letter attached (signed by someone with an 
> unreadable signature). The letter thanked me for my email and said my 
> letter (I didn't send them a letter) had been referred to the 
> Minister 
> for Climate Change.
> 
> The attached letter was in the form of a TIFF image. The 
> resulting file 
> was about 100 times larger than it need to be and would not 
> be readable 
> by those with limited vision. Government guidelines (and 
> Australian law) require services to be provided in a way does 
> not discriminate against people with a disability, including 
> the blind. Routinely generating correspondence in the form of 
> an image may constitute unlawful discrimination.
<SNIP>

Well Tom, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Last year I wrote to Minister for DFAT (Rt Hon Simon Crean) via email
expressing my concerns about ACTA.

A while later I received an email requesting me to supply a Postal
Address.
I didn't bother to reply, (I'm 51 years old, waaaay past being excited
about receiving a letter from the Minister).

A couple of weeks ago, I received a response to my email via email.

Simple, effective and much cheaper on the environment.

It would seem that at least someone in Government is finally realising
that email communication can be just as 
effectively automated as the old standard form letter physical mail
response system.

I can hear the remaining trees in the Tasmanian forests sighing with
relief.

Although, the PSA might complain about lost jobs.


Tomk







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