[LINK] E-participation pilots in Australia?

[Steven Clift]

With the change in government, is there any renewed interest in 
fostering online citizen participation in governance and community 
across Australia? (Not just elections and activism which are a natural 
part of the struggle for power and influence.)

In the UK and New Zealand, their national governments helped fund local 
Issues Forum pilots. Issues Forums are our well tested, cost-effective, 
and pretty darn vibrant model for the ongoing online town hall meeting. 
Key to our model is the formation of a non-partisan local democracy 
committee and a volunteer forum manager. Forums only open with 100 
participants (the critical mass required for sustained dialogue), 
require real names for agenda-setting power, and are normally followed 
by both elected officials and journalists. See:
 http://e-democracy.org/if

Anyway, one of our international board members is also active in IAP2 
and will be in Sydney for a meeting in the near near future - 
http://www.iap2.org.au/events/id/28 - so if you think the Australian 
government, a state government, or some other funder might be interested 
in bring Australia into the globally local e-democracy network, drop me 
a line and perhaps we can make a connection:

     clift at publicus.net

Sincerely,
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org