The Queensland Greens election website (http://qld.greens.org.au/) has an RSS feed for media releases, and some CreativeCommons "remixed" images. No blogs or wikis as yet - these things require resources to set up. Maybe next time.

The system is built entriely on open source software: Plone running on Debian GNU/Linux.

I used to be a member of GreenPeace until I read their nuclear policies. You never see them protesting coal despite the fact that over 10,000 people die every year from it. Zero people died from nuclear energy last year.

These are the same people who painted fur seals in the mistaken belief it would save them from hunters prizing their lovely pelts. Instead the poisonous toxic paint destroyed their natural oil coating and the seals froze to death at sea. The hunters went off and killed a different colony of fur seals.

It was the environmentalists who successfully blocked homeowners from much needed backburning. Dead wood accumulated and we had some terrific forest fires as a result. Killing countless wild animals and even taking a few homes.

GreenPeace members have big hearts but nothing between the ears. I urge everyone to place your votes elsewhere.

"Zero people died from nuclear energy last year."

Apart from those dead and dying from the effects of Chernobyl?

Greenpeace and The Greens are two completely different organisation by the way.

Hi,

I think onlineopinion is missing an important point. Less than 0.1% of the population go to party websites during elections. People are basically not interested and don't bother. Qld Libs and Nationals are probably quite smart realising that a website campaigning tool is only a small part of the campaign not worth put too much effort in.

Also I just signed up to this forum. Dear me, onlineopinion.com.au need to take their own advice. The technology used is old, and it was far from user friendly compared to other blog/comment sites. Where is Web 2.0 here? Using a forum as a blog platform doesn't work guys!

Hi Bob222,

I'm Daniel Macpherson, editor of the National Forum's Australian e-Democracy site, an affiliate of Online Opinion.

I don't think we're missing the point at all.

First, I'm not sure where you got your "less than 0.1%" statistic. Last year, a report on cyber-campaigning for the 2004 federal election showed 10 per cent of the population "reported using the internet for election news, most of them doing so on several occasions or less" and "frequent users constitute just 3 percent". While these figures are low compared to other countries, they're still many times higher than the figure you suggest.

Following this, I think it's wrong to say people don't care. The same report stated that "having a web page had a significant effect on the vote, net of a wide range of other factors. Candidates who maintained a web page increased their first preference vote by just over 4 percent, net of individual and party resources, party membership and other aspects of campaigning."

I think it's more accurate to say Australian web campaigning is merely in an infant stage, rather than something people just don't care about. In the US and UK, web campaigning is now an important staple in the lead-up to an election. Recently, Pew Internet & American Life Project director Lee Rainie said most internet users now expected candidates to have an online presence. He said, "There isn’t any [political] consultant that I'm aware of now that doesn't walk in with a playbook that has a big thick tab in it on how to do web politics."

Reports also indicate a lot of US politicians are focusing more of their campaign budgets on internet advertising rather TV advertising, mainly because the costs are cheaper while still reaching a high number of people.

I can only see Australia following this trend. And already some candidates are using such technology. Victorian Liberal Candidate Clem Newton-Brown recently set up a blog to track his campaign progress in the lead-up to the Victorian election. Likewise, I know NSW MLC Penny Sharpe set up a blog this year.

It just ain't democracy - Neo-Economedia.

The Australian motto of a fair go in Politics appears to be flawed when major political parties are awarded $1.97 per vote.

The cost the Australian Tax payers is around the $60 000 000 dollar mark, paidout at the end of each election to those candidates who have received more than 4% + in the electoral votes.

Liberal and Labor normally pocket around $20 000 000 dollars each. With the outstanding amount going to other fringe parties such as the Greens.

It is disturbing to find that Corporate Media have already been given in advance a chunk of the presumed votes dividends for advertising the major parties.

It is then the media's job because of the large amount of future advertising contracts at stake, to push the political parties who has spent more advertising dollars with their business.

A communist agenda of mock and ridicule are part of the strategy to protect these lucrative contracts on behalf of those who are frightened of losing their jobs.

It time to Break the Bond