*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html *
From: http://www.noie.gov.au/publications/media%5Freleases/2002/mar2002/online%5Fcouncil.htm JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT Saturday 2 March 2002 Broadband, e-Democracy, the establishment of a national Digital Divide Forum and the preparation of an Indigenous Action Plan were just some of the issues discussed in Adelaide today at the 10th Ministerial meeting of the Online Council. Ministers from the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments and representatives from the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) examined a broad range of issues in an effort to seek further consensus in addressing the many complex challenges facing Australias burgeoning information economy. Governments were represented by: Commonwealth Senator the Hon Richard Alston (Chair) Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts New South Wales The Hon Kim Yeadon MLA Minister for Information Technology, Minister for Energy, Minister for Forestry, and Minister for Western Sydney Victoria The Hon Marsha Thomson MLC Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Minister for Small Business Queensland The Hon Paul Lucas MP Minister for Innovation and Information Economy Western Australia The Hon Clive Brown MLA Minister for State Development; Tourism; Small Business Australia Capital Territory Mr Jon Stanhope MLA Chief Minister ALGA Cr Peter Watts Junior Vice President, ALGA South Australia Mr Robert Martin, Observer Executive Director Information Economy Policy Office Tasmania Ms Celia Taylor, Observer A/Director, eServices Group, Department of Premier and Cabinet ... e-DEMOCRACY Online Council acknowledged that e-democracy is a significant issue emerging for governments in Australia and agreed that Australias position as a world leader in eGovernment continues to be reflected in progress regarding e-democracy. Ministers were pleased with the progress made to date, in terms of the application of online consultation, and in the development of policies and strategies to allow people to better engage with government. Ministers noted the range of potential e-democracy initiatives, from the provision of information online to inform discussion, the screening of parliamentary sessions via the Internet, governments actively consulting on policy development through online discussion fora, to the potential of electronic and Internet voting. The Council also recognised the opportunities and challenges of e-democracy, particularly in terms of its potential to access a broader range of citizens views, the more direct involvement of citizens in the development of government policy and the need for reliable authentication and certification procedures. The Commonwealth, State and Territory governments and representatives of local government resolved to continue to work collaboratively to further explore and develop the use of the Internet to engage Australian citizens. ... *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
