[LINK] OzIT: 'Canberra plans citizen sample blog'

[Roger Clarke]

[Comments at end]

Canberra plans citizen sample blog
The Australian IT Section
Selina Mitchell | August 14, 2007
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22238273-24169,00.html

FEDERAL plans to enter the world of blogging are well under way, with 
a discussion paper due soon on the proposed "rules of engagement".

The Howard Government wants to avoid a situation in which political 
or lobby groups infiltrate what should be a blogging site for the 
public to comment on policy.

There are fears that the ease of anonymity on the web could be 
manipulated. It wouldn't be a free-for-all, but genuine and 
constructive comment would be welcomed, a spokesman for Special 
Minister of State Gary Nairn said.

Mr Nairn announced that the Government's blogging project would be up 
and running in March.

The aim is to promote a more interactive approach to policy 
development, via an official government website.

At the moment the australia. gov.au website provides links to public 
consultations only.

Some of the agencies using the service include the National Health 
and Medical Research Council, the Office of the Access Card, and the 
Office of the Privacy Commission.

"I strongly encourage all agencies to take advantage of the public 
consultation capability," Mr Nairn said last week.

In a speech at the Commonwealth Ombudsman 30th anniversary seminar, 
he said the Government was entering a third stage of engagement with 
citizens using information and communication technologies, in which 
"citizens actively shape policy options, but government retains the 
responsibility for final decisions".

"The opportunities for government are to deliver more services faster 
to the areas that need services," Mr Nairn said.

Citizens would be able to get more personal interactions and perhaps 
a greater understanding of, and involvement in, policy formation 
through e-consultation.

Mr Nairn said the challenges for administration and the Commonwealth 
Ombudsman were that in some cases the issues that arose may not 
directly involve human interaction.

"It could be the result of some type of automated process with a 
business rules engine sitting behind it that automates the 
legislation and regulations that apply to a specific situation."

This could require the Ombudsman to have staff with very different 
technical skills.

Mr Nairn said the other challenge for public administration was that, 
as the use of online services grew, agencies could need to increase 
the level of technology and resources devoted to e-government.


[The Government is mouthing platitudes - and the Ombudsman is aiding 
and abetting it by pretending that the Government is actually 
interested in 'engagement'.  And the last thing we need is the 
Ombudsman, a heavily bureaucratised agency, getting in between people 
and the government agencies that actually form policy and provide 
(contracts to companies to deliver) services.

[Contemporary government is about 'spin', not consultation.  The 
Office of Access Card has completely ignored submissions to it, 
including those by Privacy Commissioners.  The Attorney-General's 
Dept and DFAT are similarly completely closed shops.  Very few 
agencies provide any scope at all for public participation in policy 
formation and systems design.

[This bit adopts one particular piece of Government spin:
"The Howard Government wants to avoid a situation in which political 
or lobby groups infiltrate what should be a blogging site for the 
public to comment on policy".

[It reflects the Government's acceptance of business associations but 
dismissal of the submissions of representative and advocacy groups. 
The justification used is self-interest - even though, unlike 
business associations, neither the organisations nor their pro bono 
officers benefit from the outcomes they are seeking.

[Another element of this extremist Government's denial of public 
voice in the polity is its preclusion of tax-deductible status for 
any public interest organisation that has 'submissions to government' 
as part of its charter.

[See:

The Internet and Democracy - E-Politics
http://www.agimo.gov.au/publications/2004/05/egovt_challenges/community/democracy/e-politics


-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
			            
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Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW