Politically correct . .
.
or not
IT SHOULD come as no surprise that politicians are no better than the bulk of
the population at using the Internet. After all, despite the constant bagging they
receive, they are only human.
Their Net expertise appears to range from the extremely competent, complete
with Web page skills, to those who think a computer will not work unless it has a
secretary in front of it. Either that, or they still think of computers as those
warehouse-sized dinosaurs from old James Bond films. You remember that sort of computer?
If you typed on its rickety keyboard fast enough -- without using the spacebar -- a
message (always in capital letters) would pop up saying: Secret Password OK. Do you want
to destroy the Earth a)Now or b) Just as soon as Commander Bond joins us to heighten the
drama?
US politicians probably have the edge on their Australian counterparts,
although not as much as Vice-President Al Gore would have us believe by his recent claim
that he invented the Internet.
One who used his Net knowhow last week was Steve Forbes, whose day job is
multi-millionaire publishing tycoon. Mr Forbes became the first person to announce his
candidacy for president at his own Web site. Not surprisingly he pledged a campaign for a
new age of information. The 51-year-old Republican and admirer of former president Ronald
Reagan used both text and audio for his announcement at the Forbes2000 site, which happens to be a small part of
his family's publishing empire.
The race for the US presidency in 2000 is a long way from what Australian
politicians put on their Web pages, though. Rob Johnson, the Liberal MLA
for the State seat of Hillarys, uses his to talk about local issues, even congratulating
couples on their 60th wedding anniversaries.
Federal Labor Member for Fremantle, Carmen Lawrence, has a jazzy-looking
site where she breaks issues into the categories of current, Fremantle and national. She
also has a separate section on the Marks royal commission.
Both sites show an enthusiasm for using the Net on a local or community basis;
a return to the parish pump.
Recently I felt like testing the Net as a democratic vehicle. The day the
Federal Government announced it was putting the republic referendum draft up for public
scrutiny, I e-mailed Curtin Liberal MHR Julie Bishop and Dr Lawrence. The message was
brief and perhaps brusque: Do you know if this draft is on the Web? If so, where; if not,
why not? Within hours, Ms Bishop had replied with a friendly e-mail pointing out the URL.
Dr Lawrence's office got back to me shortly after with the same information.
They certainly appear to be two politicians who are getting to know the Net as
an important feedback tool. Premier Richard Court
has had his own Web page for three years and allows people to subscribe to an e-mail
information service, so he also looks Net-savvy.
But the only e-mail I have received in six months from this service -- a time
of belltowers, Elle, forest debates etc -- came last week. It said Mr Court's 500 Club
luncheon speech of February 19 was now available for viewing on the Web. I replied tartly
that this had to win the cryptic e-mail of the week award and next day I was advised of
the URL where I could read the month-old speech.
We are all learning.
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