AUUG calls for adoption of open-source software by the Australian Government

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUUG CALLS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SECTOR TO ACCELERATE ADOPTION
OF 
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

  Highlighting recent Government sector progress AUUG Inc., the
Australian UNIX and Open Systems group, calls on Federal and State
agencies to further accelerate the adoption of Open Source software
deployment within the Government sector.

SYDNEY, Australia -- 20 August 2002 -- The Australian UNIX and Open 
Systems User Group (AUUG, Inc.) today congratulated the Government
sector 
on recent progress in the adoption of Open Source and called for the 
accelerated adoption of Open Standards based Open Source solutions such 
as Linux and BSD within departments and agencies. The call follows two 
recent significant Open Source wins.  The first a month ago, when the
key 
federal government department CentreLink, the world's twelfth largest 
processing organisation, announced that it had established a world class 
Linux Laboratory in collaboration with IBM to reduce costs and raise the 
flexibility of the agency's IT systems. The second came last week, when 
the Federal Department of Veterans' Affairs announced that it is moving 
file and print services for all branch offices to an IBM zSeries 
mainframe running Linux.

"It's clear that IT departments within government agencies are being 
attracted to Open Source software such as Linux," says Gordon Hubbard, 
AUUG Inc. Press Secretary.  "What we'd like to see now is a commitment 
within government that actively supports and encourages the use of Linux 
and other Open Source systems to reduce licensing fees, thus saving 
money, and to provide open, stable and secure government IT 
infrastructure solutions."

AUUG is calling on the Government sector to review all areas of IT 
procurement and information standards to ensure that there is no bias 
against Open Standards based Open Source solutions. This would allow 
government IT managers to calculate the true ROI for each software 
acquisition and deployment  - enabling the comparison of open and closed 
solutions on an equal footing.  A comparison that AUUG believes Open 
Source will win. Ultimately delivering major savings to Australian tax 
payers.

In addition to ROI issues Open Standards based systems provide Open file 
formats and interfaces, thus increase the accessibility of Government 
information and services to all citizens without discrimination.

"We are asking for a level playing field which will empower government
IT 
managers to consider all of the options when considering server
operating 
environments", said Hubbard. The AUUG call follows recent announcements 
by government bodies in Germany, France, Taiwan and Peru to variously 
endorse and encourage the use of open source solutions within their
agencies.

AUUG's call comes ahead of its annual national conference, to be held in 
Melbourne from 1-6 September 2002.  Themed "Measure, Monitor, Control", 
the conference will focus on Security, Network Monitoring, Open Source 
and Business, Large Scale System Management and Wireless Networking. The 
conference will also see the presentation of the inaugural Australian 
Open Source Awards to encourage and recognise the excellence and 
dedication of Australians contributing in the Open Source arena. For 
conference information and registration details visit 
http://www.auug.org.au/conf/auug2002/.

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About AUUG Incorporated
AUUG Inc. is the Australian UNIX and Open Systems User Group, a 
professional association for end users, corporations, developers and 
vendors that promotes UNIX® and related systems, including Linux and
BSD. 
 Dating from 1975, AUUG is a national body with chapters that organize 
local activities in most capital cities.

Visit http://www.auug.org.au/ or contact AUUG at: AUUG Inc., PO Box 366, 
Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia. Free Call 1800 625 655, Fax 02 8824 
9522, International: Tel +61 2 8824 9511, Fax +61 2 8824 9522, E-mail: 
auug@auug.org.au. ACN A00 166 36N, ABN 15 645 981 718.

Press Contact
Gordon Hubbard
Treasurer and Press Secretary, AUUG Inc.
<Gordon.Hubbard@auug.org.au>
Tel: 02 9659 9590
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