Wellington must take back lead in Information Technology - 14 July 2010
Wellington City Council is being left behind by Taupo District Council in Information and CommunicationsTechnology (ICT).
"Checking out the level of debate and what respect councillors have for the public would be good information for voters", says Celia Wade-Brown. "If I am elected as Wellington's Mayor, I will push again for the real-time web-casting of Council and committee meetings."
Sometimes colleagues over-use "points of order" or their speeches occasionally reveal that a paper has not been read and fully understood. Most councillors read and consider submissions but broadcasting the debate following consultation would help the public see whether consultation effected any change in thinking.
Having a webcam and Internet broadcast was offered in the 1990s to Wellington City Council, for free, but the majority turned it down. "I was keen then and I'm keen now. At least we got the voting system to record all Council votes without a division having to be called for. However, the final vote often fails to show the quality of persuasion and knowledge in the debates." says the Mayoral candidate, who believes that good technology access is vital to Wellington's economy and democracy.
"I don't expect Wellingtonians to spend too much time following us but the opportunity for people to observe from home, real-time or later on, could raise the level of debate and motivate all elected members to do their homework," says Celia Wade-Brown, who was an early Internet user and an inaugural member of the NZ Internet Society Council..
For contentious issues, radio and TV sometimes turn up and one or two issues get coverage in the media. Web-casting means people can find out how councillors and the Mayor are performing on issues they regard as important, not wait for a press release or the minutes.
"More generally, we led in ICT when we were one of the first city's to have a website, when CityLink made Wellington the most wired downtown in the world. Now Taupo is ahead of us and that's embarrassing for the capital city."
Wellington City Council's information is partly on our website but much more data could be available on-line for the use of residents and world-wide interest. One municipal leader is the District of Columbia, with crime stats, bike lanes and all manner of information available.
Reinvigorating the City's InfoCity Policy is a key part of Celia Wade-Brown's platform.
