The Federal Member for Banks, Mr David Coleman MP was invited to the CASS Peakhurst Centre today as the Guest-of-Honour to officiate the start of use of the CASS new telephone system.

The CASS Peakhurst Centre provides day program for people with disability during weekdays, and on every Tuesday, it also provides day activity for a group of Chinese-speaking elderly people. It is located within the Federal electorate of Banks, of whom Mr David Coleman is the local Federal Member.

Mr Coleman was first given a tour of the Centre. Participants of the disability day program enthusiastically greeted him for his caring visit. Later he attended the new phone system commissioning ceremony. 

CASS Chairperson, Dr Bo Zhou, in his welcoming speech said, “about 20 months ago, it was because of the initiative and encouragement of Mr Coleman that CASS sought financial assistance from the Federal Government under the community development grants programme for the project to upgrade the outdated telephone system of CASS with a brand new one. We are extremely honored and pleased to have Mr Coleman attending this special ceremony today to mark the official commencement of the use of the new telephone system. On behalf of CASS, I would like to thank Mr Coleman and the Federal Government for the support and assistance provided for the project.”

Mr Coleman said that he was pleased to see the funding of $195,000 provided by the Federal Government to CASS had enabled the upgrading of the telephone system to enhance the provision of services as CASS is an important service provider in the multicultural community. He is very happy to learn that with the new phone system, which uses the state-of-art technology to enhance capability, the numerous operating sites of CASS are linked by a single phone system. He understands that clients and families of the many services and activities provided by CASS, amounting to over 3,500 in number, from now on can communicate with relevant people in CASS located at different operating sites without dialling different telephone numbers. The new system is particularly helpful under the COVID-19 situation, when many CASS staff members are working from home, they can still be contacted on their usual extension numbers which are linked to their company issued mobile phones, in other words, CASS staff members  can be contacted anywhere in the world that has WIFI or mobile data. The enhanced communication no doubt allows better service by CASS to the community.

He then officiated the start of the operation of the new telephone system by making a call to a CASS staff member on his normal CASS extension, but this staff member was located at a faraway site at that moment.

The Ceremony was attended by a number of Board and senior staff members of CASS, fully in compliance of COVID-19 prevention measures.