Victorian Government promises to keep print in Australia

The agreement to establish the board was reached following a meeting between Printing Industries and representatives from the State Government Department of Premier and Cabinet. The meeting was called in response to concerns raised last week that the Victorian Government was preparing to outsource some of its estimated $15-$25 million worth of print work to offshore companies.

Printing Industries was represented by regional president Ray Keen, acting Victorian regional manager Jim Hargrave, regional councillors Trevor Hone and Ron Patterson and business development officer Phillip Sayers.

“We received an assurance from the Department's Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Andrew Hockley, that offshore printing would not be a sought after option,” says Keen.

“In fact Mr Hockley made the point that similar offshore models adopted by some parts of the corporate sector had failed.”

Keen said the government wanted to move to a print management system to co-ordinate its print needs, monitor costs and achieve savings by standardising some print orders that are common across departments. Presentation folders were cited as an example of duplication that could be better serviced via a co-ordinated, single large run instead of individual department initiated runs.

“Our goal was to ensure that the Victorian industry did not lose out to offshore printers and I believe the assurances we have received from government confirm that our industry will not be disadvantaged this way,” says Keen.

“In addition we will be establishing an 'advisory board' to assist the Government develop key performance indicators and parameters for how the print management contract will operate.

“This will allow us to have ongoing input into the process to ensure that the interests of Victorian printers are always at the forefront,” he says.