Aussie Parliament goes live to the Web

Stuart Corner
Friday, 05 September 2008 06:55

Your IT - Home IT

The House of Representatives of The Australian Federal Parliament has launched a new web site that, it says, "will give people access to more information about the House of Representatives than they have ever had before," including near real-time delivery of House proceedings.

According to the speaker of the House of Representatives, Harry Jenkins, "Using the latest technology, Australians will be able to find out about some of the significant issues that the House of Representatives and its committees are considering...[The site] will help the community and the media get the latest information on key committee investigations. It will also be a great educational resource."

A welcome feature is the draft minutes page  which will be updated every five minutes while the House is sitting, providing the initial draft of what eventually becomes Hansard - the permanent record of Parliamentary proceedings.

The website, will provide regular news alerts on the work of the House and its committees, including information on upcoming public hearings and the latest committee reports. Interviews with people contributing to committee inquiries will be available as podcasts.

The site will also feature a range of video news items from parliamentary committee investigations, replays of recent Question Times, and videos of significant events such as the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples, plus a documentary on the people who built Parliament House 20 years ago.