[LINK] It is Time for Parliament to Follow the Rest of Australia Online

[David Lochrin]

On 2020-08-27 09:02, Tom Worthington wrote:

> The theater of parliament is largely rehearsed and scripted. Like any performance the spontaneity is largely an illusion. 
> [...]
> Only a tiny fraction of the Australian population ever experience parliament face to face, and then only from the remoteness of the public gallery. It is possible to use online tools and techniques to make the experience "better than life".

The Parties certainly plan (or attempt to plan) their performances in Parliament, but the content on the day is there for all to see.  The sight of the PM fondling a lump of coal is a value-defining image which will stay with him for his political career!

The theatrical dynamics of Parliament are important, too.  Ask any actor how Shakespeare would seem with no audience and the actors each sitting at home in front of their computer....

I think the number of people who attend parliamentary sessions is a little irrelevant.  Prime-time ABC news programs alone have an audience of around half to three-quarters of a million viewers, and that's where the impact lies.

David Lochrin