Local Government 2.0

Looking at the ways in which the ideas and trends around "Gov 2.0" will look and feel in the ever practical world of local government in Australia and New Zealand.

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  1. How much water is there on Earth, from USGS Water Science for Schools water information site Howard Perlman, USGS, usgs.gov As you know, the Earth is a watery place. But just how much water exists on, in, and above our plan­et? The pic­ture to the left shows the size of a sphere that would con­tain all of Earth’s water in com­par­i­son to the size of the Earth. You’re…

    How much water is there on Earth, from USGS Water Science for Schools water information site
    Howard Perlman, USGS, usgs.gov

    As you know, the Earth is a watery place. But just how much water exists on, in, and above our plan­et? The pic­ture to the left shows the size of a sphere that would con­tain all of Earth’s water in com­par­i­son to the size of the Earth. You’re…

     
     

  2. The real problem with government is...

    Australia probably has one too many levels of government.  State Governments are completely expendable in my view.  But given we couldn’t agree to change the name of the Governor General a few years back, the likelihood of a wholesale rewrite of the constitution getting up is not even remote.  

    The next best thing would be to just get them off the critical path.  In Australia all the money is tipped in at the top of the system.  The federal level ended up with all the growth taxes so they invariably have the money.  All the work gets done at the local government level so the money has to get from Canberra to your community.  

    The most inefficient way for that to happen is to route it through state government.  But a little while ago it was decided that for Canberra to make grants to Councils directly was in many cases a breach of the Constitution (Pape v Commissioner of Taxation 2009).  The federal government is only allowed to do the things the States agreed they could do in 1901.  Local government is only allowed to do the things each State decided they should do in their local government Act.

    Fortunately, the panel setup to consider whether local government should be recognised in the Constitution seem to have got to the nub of the matter - the money.  I’ve only managed to skim the Summary and Conclusions but it seems the panel are in agreement that direct funding of Councils by the federal government is in the national best interest.  The only question seems to be whether the community would support this change to the Constitution in a referendum.

    Would you?

     
     

  3. Social media and national security

    Comparing the social media experience in Australian and US diplomacy.  A battle to get a single twitter feed vs over 600 social media accounts and training diplomats in batches of 50.  Guess who’s who?

     
     

  4. Paperless Contracts at Yarra Ranges

    Yarra Ranges logoThis article in the MAV Bulletin gives a brief overview of how using digital signatures allowed Yarra Ranges to drop their contracts turnaround from weeks to hours.  Presumably it also saves a lot of scanning to get the documents into the records system!

     
     
  5. Fish n chips, good Kiwi cider, sunshine, cool breeze, roar of the surf… All good! (Taken with Instagram at Cotton Tree Caravan Park)

    Fish n chips, good Kiwi cider, sunshine, cool breeze, roar of the surf… All good! (Taken with Instagram at Cotton Tree Caravan Park)

     
     

  6. Archives' return shows 'repentance'

    japantimes.co.jp

    A rare case of records playing a part in international diplomacy.

     
     
  7. Peak Performance Requires Practice The rash of natural disaster across Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 2010/11 created some social media heroes and zeroes.  Hundeds and thousands of people flocked to the Qld Police Facebook page for timely and reliable information turning their media folk into heroes.  In contrast, local government emergency management official communications were being outpaced by their kids smartphones and their communities felt they were left in the dark. The experience has validated social media for many folk in local government who were previously prone to dismiss it as the plaything of the digital natives.  Effective emergency management requires a rapid flow of information to allow people to respond to events that are unfolding in real time.  Peer to peer communication through new media channels such as Facebook and Twitter can get the message out in a way that traditional media just can’t.  I think Councils now get that. The response?  Generally speaking Councils are establishing presences in the mainstream social media channels.  But only for emergency management use!  The theory is these channels will be turned on when the excrement hits the rotating cooling device.   Anyone else see a problem with this?  For 999 days out of 1,000 we’ll pretend this doesn’t exist, then when we are under pressure, we’ll turn it on and start to learn how to use new media while everyone is time pressured, agitated and fatigued.  This is a plan to fail. If you have had the pleasure of hearing anybody from QPS Media talk about the success of their Facebook presence, the clear message is that this didn’t happen overnight.  The reason the unit could respond so smoothly and professionally in a time of crisis was that they weren’t learning as they went.   The Facebook page had been established and it formed part of their normal routine of distributing information.  They had the best part of a year’s experience under their belt by the time the floods and cyclones rolled through the State.  For most of that time their efforts in social media had gone largely unnoticed.  Good!  If there were mistakes that come with learning, they went largely unnoticed.  When it counted, the experience showed. Councils need to routinely engage with new media channels as part of their routine.  Staff, both operational and management, need to get comfortable with this new style of communication and make mistakes when lives aren’t at risk.  Putting a first gamer into the grand final isn’t going to give you peak performance.

    Peak Performance Requires Practice

    The rash of natural disaster across Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 2010/11 created some social media heroes and zeroes.  Hundeds and thousands of people flocked to the Qld Police Facebook page for timely and reliable information turning their media folk into heroes.  In contrast, local government emergency management official communications were being outpaced by their kids smartphones and their communities felt they were left in the dark.

    The experience has validated social media for many folk in local government who were previously prone to dismiss it as the plaything of the digital natives.  Effective emergency management requires a rapid flow of information to allow people to respond to events that are unfolding in real time.  Peer to peer communication through new media channels such as Facebook and Twitter can get the message out in a way that traditional media just can’t.  I think Councils now get that.

    The response?  Generally speaking Councils are establishing presences in the mainstream social media channels.  But only for emergency management use!  The theory is these channels will be turned on when the excrement hits the rotating cooling device.  

    Anyone else see a problem with this?  For 999 days out of 1,000 we’ll pretend this doesn’t exist, then when we are under pressure, we’ll turn it on and start to learn how to use new media while everyone is time pressured, agitated and fatigued.  This is a plan to fail.

    If you have had the pleasure of hearing anybody from QPS Media talk about the success of their Facebook presence, the clear message is that this didn’t happen overnight.  The reason the unit could respond so smoothly and professionally in a time of crisis was that they weren’t learning as they went.  

    The Facebook page had been established and it formed part of their normal routine of distributing information.  They had the best part of a year’s experience under their belt by the time the floods and cyclones rolled through the State.  For most of that time their efforts in social media had gone largely unnoticed.  Good!  If there were mistakes that come with learning, they went largely unnoticed.  When it counted, the experience showed.

    Councils need to routinely engage with new media channels as part of their routine.  Staff, both operational and management, need to get comfortable with this new style of communication and make mistakes when lives aren’t at risk.  Putting a first gamer into the grand final isn’t going to give you peak performance.

     
     

  8. architizer:

    Hover VerticalCitiesAsia

     Hover is a high density city that preserves the existing nature on its site by only touching down at strategic edge points

     
     

  9. You tweeted, I ….?

    Communication is not a spectator sport.  There is the sending and the receiving.  It’s an active process.  Which is why we have both the words “to speak” and “to hear”; “to write” and “to read”; “to talk” and “to listen”.

    I find the hearing and listening part of the equation curiously absent in the social media space.  You tweet and I twear?… twisten?  Is this a coincidence or just a lag in the dynamics of language to develop a new word for a new concept?  Or is it reflective of the nature of these media to be a form of niche broadcast rather than a conversation?

    As governments seek avenues to engage their citizens, social media is often top of mind.  The undeniable utility of twitter and facebook to rapidly disseminate information during recent disasters has reinforced this mindshare.  I’d encourage you to pause though and consider the goals of your program before reflexively creating a twitter account or creating a facebook page.

    Are you seeking to promote an event or communicate some information?  If so, then go right ahead.  The social media megaphone is likely to be an effective way to amplify your message if you get the right pitch to the right people.

    Are you seeking a conversation?  Do you need a means of gauging community sentiment on an issue or getting substantive input into a planning process?  If so then I’m not sure social media is going to deliver what you need.

     
     

  10. Tepco and the Japanese Government have been criticised for not providing enough information about the ongoing radiation levels from the Fukushima incident.  The response from some members of the community has been to crowdsource real time data feeds on background radiation levels and radiation maps.

    This 5 minute video shows how inexpensive it has been to get together the equipment and how the informal collaboration has allowed each person to contribute in their area of expertise.