James Riley
Friday, 31 July 2009 08:21
Opinion and Analysis
With the release of the Public Sphere 2: Government 2.0 briefing paper from Kate Lundy’s office, it is worth noting the success so far of the Public Sphere venture. But it also highlights some slightly skewed expectations about where Gov 2.0 initiatives can take us and how
fast we’ll get there.
So, what did we learn? First, we learned that corporate sponsorship
banners in a policy discussion inside a Parliamentary committee room
look out of place. (This government was brought to you by … Not quite,
but you know what I mean.)
Next, we learned of the giant-sized appetite for 2.0 everything among
the tech elite, and that there is huge scope across Government for
improving information management and the better use of new ICT tools in
the public consultation process.
But we won’t really start to know where all this is going (or how to
get there) until Public Sphere moves into non-ICT fields of interest.
If the complaint from politicians about real-world Town Hall meetings
is that you see the same faces, and hear the same voices, then – just
like real life – you may just get the same (slightly crazier) voices
online.
How influential do Gov 2.0 advocates hope to be and what will they consider a successful project?
If people are expecting direct feedback from Ministers’ offices
regarding Public Sphere submissions – and an understanding of what
influence the submission did or did not have on policy decisions – they
are going to be disappointed.
It's is a democracy, not a Super-Democracy.
Decisions are made in a black box (Cabinet rules being the best
example). You can feed as much information as you like into the box,
but you don’t get to peek inside.
And that’s a good thing. It’s why we have elections. We actually want
our elected officials to make those decisions on our behalf having
consulted widely. Sure, the wisdom of the crowd is a wonderful thing,
but there are an awful lot of crowds in the community.
And while input on Gov 2.0 from a group of Gov 2.0 advocates is equally wonderful, it is just one view.
Just like you don’t want environmental decisions based on the vocal
input of environmentalists, or business sector decisions based on the
only the business community. That’s just how it is.
And on expectations...
The paper produced at the first Public Sphere event on the National
Broadband Network was delivered to Stephen Conroy’s office a couple of
months ago. A quick call to his office reveals it “has been read and is
being considered.”
And that’s all you’re going to hear about it. There’s the black box.
But for all the hard work of many people that went into Public Sphere,
that’s how it should be. You’re not going to have Minister’s offices
responding any more than if you’d put your efforts into writing a
submission to a Senate committee yourself, or if you’d written directly
to the Minister, or attended a Town Hall meeting.
“Dear Sir/Madam, The Minister thanks you for your interest in this
important issue and welcomes your valuable input. Et cetera. Et
cetera.” No gold star for best idea (although that's something that
maybe the Gov2.0 Taskforce might be willing to look at.)
Frankly, the great reforms that I most most interested in seeing to
broaden participatory democracy (is that even a term? Surely a
tautology?) are the relatively simple process improvements that deliver
easier and more timely access to Government information.
This is where the Gov 2.0 taskforce will have its greatest impact.
And if I can ask for one single precious thing for Christmas? Can someone please give the Hansard people more resources?!
Anything to speed up the publication of committee hearing transcripts.
A week to get a transcript from a Senate committee hearing on the
National Broadband Network? C’mon, a week?
Hansard is the lifeblood. Will someone Two-Dot-Oh that, please?