The major parties' X-files are keeping odds stacked in favour of MPs

For example, the groundswell of public opinion over last year's ASIO legislation caused the Government to modify its position. Angry phone calls over that draconian piece of legislation were noticed by the Government (just remember your MP has caller ID, so anonymity is difficult). On the other hand, despite much public opposition to Australia's participation in the war against Iraq, Government members backed the Prime Minister in the knowledge that their seats were never under threat.

Databases are all about helping political parties ensure that their messages are relevant to the recipients. The big parties are already spending less money on broadcast advertising and diverting their resources towards more targeted campaigns.

Electoral databases are a powerful and invasive political tool. Political parties are exempted from privacy legislation because they are political parties, and, paradoxically, are also exempt from freedom of information legislation because they are private organisations. All citizens must be free to take their concerns about government policy to their local MP, confident that their private details will not be used for partisan advantage.

Personal details of electors should not be available to the central offices of political parties. We should all have the right to know what our elected representatives have on file about us.

The unwillingness of the major parties to publicly discuss their electoral databases is understandable but not acceptable. Well over a decade after their introduction, it is time to shed some light on this crucial development in Australian politics.

Write to your local MP about this issue. Just be very careful what you say.