I’ve been alerted by CloCkWeRX in a comment in my post, Australian Labor Party launches social media website, that the South Australian government has passed a law banning anonymous online comments about the South Australian election. According to the article South Australian Government gags internet debate in News.com.au, The new law, which came into force…
In a first for a major political party in Australia, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has embedded blogging, tweeting and video in the heart of its website, relaunching www.alp.org.au as a Politics 2.0 website. Termed ‘Labor Connect’ the redeveloped site aims to foster active policy debates, stating that, We know we won’t always agree about…
January 21 was the one year anniversary of the US Government’s open government initiative, measured from when President Obama released his first memorandum in office, committing the US government to an approach involving openness, transparency and collaboration. In recognition of this anniversary, Delib, a UK Open Government consultancy, has released a short documentary about the…
One of the long established principles in government and big business is that only designated staff are allowed to represent their organisations when speaking to the media. This is an extremely well-intentioned principle, designed to protect both the organisation and individual staff. The media is frequently more interested in sensation than truth and can twist…
Hi, I was a little late in today, missing the introduction by Paul Twomey. However I’ve taken up the Liveblog from Larry Smarr’s presentation this morning. Broadband Futures Day 2
I’ve taken a couple of days off work to attend the Realising our Broadband Future conference on a personal basis. I am liveblogging it below, contingent on wi-fi availability. Please feel free to ask questions and I’ll try to relay them to speakers. Broadband Futures Day 1
You may have already seen notices about this book over at the eGovernment Resource Centre or other places but, in case you’re not aware of it, this is a fantastic read on where Government 2.0 is right now and where it is going. The book is available for free download from 21Gov.net and you can…
The Centre for Policy Development, a non-partisan Australian think tank, has released the Upgrading Democracy Edition of Insight, their enewsletter. With a foreword by Minister Lindsay Tanner and articles from Senator Kate Lundy and Gov 2.0 Taskforce member Martin Stewart-Weeks – amongst a set of other fantastic essays, I recommend reading this Insight to gain…
These days when I personally need to set up a new website, I either hop onto WordPress or download one of the free open-source content management systems, purchase space on a decent US server and follow the installation instructions. I use a design template found online, customising it with some style tweaks where required, then…
In my experience, where possible, Australian public servants avoid controversial topics when consulting with the public. Controversial topics are messy, unpredictable, raise high emotions and draw out divergent viewpoints – making discussions difficult to manage and control. They also often edge into political matters which are outside the scope of the public service, who strive…
This archive mirrors the original eGov AU blog — Craig’s professional commentary on AI, digital government and technology in public life, running since 2006.
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