Joe Hockey is a Gen-Y TwitterHead! Is that privileged?

James Riley
Thursday, 10 September 2009 16:12

Opinion and Analysis

It is interesting, no doubt. And I would imagine the Department of the House of Representatives (yes, weirdly it has its own department) is looking at it right now. It would seem strange if a message – whether its Twitter or a bulk email or a blog update – that is narrowcast or broadcast to people all over the planet would attract privilege.

I just know it’s not going to be that simple. An immediate counter argument would be that #QT is broadcast via the internet and free-to-air TV to millions of people outside the chamber, with the content of those broadcasts privileged.

On ABC radio Annabel seemed to suggest privilege extended to what made it into Hansard, so therefore tweets were out. Joe wasn’t so sure, because rants across the chamber that don’t get picked up by the Hansard reporters are privileged – so Hansard can’t be the test.

Social media policy is being invented right now. All we know for sure is that it turns young people into … erm … young people.

Frankly, I think the situation would resolve itself if Joe would just sit up straight and put the damn Blackberry down.

Regardless, there are very obvious and very practical reasons for using Twitter and other social media tools in politics. And Joe is both a big fan. He’s been an early adopter and is a successful user of these tools.

Both sides of politics continue to polish and hone their social media arsenal ahead of the election, some time between now and about March 2011.

The Opposition this week launched what it calls Question Time Brief on its LiberalPartyTV service via YouTube. It’s pretty interesting – a very short succinct video summary of what happened in #QT each day, with all the Opposition’s messages-of-the-day included. Joe's done one, and Chris Pyne has done a couple.

Malcolm Turnbull then tweets a short URL link to to the video to his 15,600 Twitter followers, Joe Hockey tweets his 3,000-odd (as do other Coalition members) and you can start to see how Twitter becomes very, very useful.

So, yes, Joe Hockey is a Gen-Y TwitterHead. And he ain't gonna change.