Australian politicians' use of new media technologies - are they making the most of it?

Where does Peter Chen see the greatest potential for new media technologies in e-democracy (eg online consultation, e-voting)?

"Online consultation. E-voting is a waste of money in my opinion, though I stand to be corrected," he said. "I think e-voting is a distraction from the harder job and one that might only be relevant for countries without compulsory voting (though in these cases, online voting might widen the gap between the middle and upper classes who have access to the political process, and the disenfranchised poor who do not).

"Australians are currently engaged politically at the level of voting, but remain dissatisfied with the political process as a whole. Thus, if we're concerned about (a) informing the public and raising the level of understanding of the political process, (b) connecting politicians to the public on an individual level, and (c) facilitating citizen input into the political process, then online consultation is one tool that might be valuable in this area. It allows people to become connected to the policy process, have input in a structured way, and provide for information to be returned to the public, but is difficult and can be expensive to administer effectively.

"At present we simply don't know enough about the potential and how to practically design and run these processes. But, I believe reps as individuals are the key, we have almost 7,000 elected reps at the federal, state and territory, local, and ATSIC levels, that's a lot of potential e-democracy experiments we could have, if we can resource and skill these individuals. Overall, however, I feel that the flat translation of traditional forms of consultation into the online environment is unlikely to be as effective as alternative approaches, such as a modified online form of deliberative polling."

The report Bowling Together: Online Public Engagement in Policy Deliberation supports Peter's view. Coleman and Gøtze found that people in the UK who were already online wanted to contribute to policy making over the Internet rather than e-voting. They wanted governments to concentrate on developing opportunities for public involvement in policy making.

There are already impressive examples of e-democracy in Australia. Take for example the Queensland Government. It has made three commitments to community online engagement: Live broadcasts of Parliamentary proceedings, an online petition system, and online community consultations. Its E-Democracy Unit has been charged with managing these commitments.

At the local government level, the City of Launceston in Tasmania has a website http://www.elaunceston.com with Daily News, a Quick Poll, Open Chat, Open Discussion, and frequently updated content. While most local governments in Australia have an online presence, their websites often lack the opportunity for online citizen engagement.

Peter Chen's survey found that the perceived importance of new media technologies increased with IT skill level, and that the vast majority of elected representatives believed that these technologies will become more important to their work over the next two years. More resources and support are needed for councillors in local government and ATSIC to develop their computer skills and make the most of new media technologies.