Plugged-in politics hits our shores

During a recent debate on social policy, a British MP told the House of Commons: "I am just giving [my husband] notice that it will be our 30th anniversary next year." Why? Because she knew her husband, and many of her constituents, had signed up to receive automatic emails whenever she spoke in Parliament, through a site called TheyWorkForYou.com.

We live in an era where technology is breaking down the barriers between the governed and the governing, an era we'll call - for un-ironic ease of reference - "Politics 2.0". It's putting the fear of God (or an all-seeing populace) into some of our politicians, and that's just the way it should be.
The internet has, in many ways, been liberating. We communicate, shop, learn, socialise and romance online, and politics should be no different. TheyWorkForYou.com, and sites like it, can show just how far we've departed from some of the fundamental tenets of representative democracy.

Run by a charity and set up by volunteers, it compiles data that although already publicly available, would otherwise be inaccessible. Not only does it provide a "digital dossier" on each politician - speeches, voting record, financial interests, donations, expenses and more - it helps communication between MPs and their constituents, and between users who comment on what is taking place behind the parliamentary veneer.

The system has begun to catch up with the demand, with initiatives such as allowing citizens to "e-petition" Downing Street directly. In Scotland, if an e-petition gathers enough signatures, Parliament is bound to debate it.

Its success shows a void that previously existed in Britain, and a void that still exists in Australia. It's a void that the community will rush to fill.

What is often mistaken for apathy is really just frustration with the party-political system. People are far more politically complex creatures than the parties allow for, and are so far removed from the parties' decision-making processes it's no wonder many appear to have switched off.

But Australians are repoliticising in droves, armed with quick, accessible and effective tools of political engagement.

The new senators, who take their seats on the red benches for the first time this week, will discover this. They are there courtesy of an election that included many early signs of the internet's potential to move politics out of the shadowy recesses of the parties and the Parliament.

Their arrival in Canberra coincides with the launch of Project Democracy, a website like TheyWorkForYou.com that allows Australians to track and follow the performance of individual members of parliament - and the media - and to contact them with their concerns.

- from the Sydney Morning Herald

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what a fantastic idea!