Page 422 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
various agencies here. Engagement is the petrol that drives organic reach and it all originates from the actual content creation.
Not all government departments are using social media to its full potential. In 2018, any government agencies that are not fully utilising one or more social media platforms are probably not achieving their desired policy objectives. It was briefly touched on—actually, I do not know that it was briefly touched on—that one of the biggest benefits, of course, is the ease of communication and the fact that you can get instant feedback.
Snapchat was mentioned by Mr Steel, which I think is very much an exploding platform. I think we are still to work out exactly how to reach people on Snapchat, certainly for our purposes here and for government agency purposes. I think it is very easy for non-users of these platforms to dismiss them as being purely recreational, but that that is the absolute key to their effectiveness.
Because of their recreational nature, these platforms create a space where you can engage with people who would not necessarily be looking for that sort of information but who may be open to receiving it on that sort of platform. One of the worst things that you can do when people are trying to engage is to ignore them. It is even worse when it is government agencies, because there is already a negative stigma attached to their level of customer service.
While I fully support the innovative way forward, I was most pleased to hear Mr Steel also talk about the fact that, while we should embrace new ways to deliver information, the traditional ways of engagement with the community are not yet ready for the scrap heap. We must always remember that there is a large section of the community that have not embraced new technologies or are not at the point where they want to come forward and join a panel. I do not think we can forget them.
My office has certainly received a number of complaints from members of the community who are not well connected in the digital space. They have on occasions been directed to websites for more information or even for the payment of fees on some occasions. They felt that they had been treated with disdain for their inability to grapple with some things in the digital space. So, by all means, march forward and experiment, but do not forget those who have been left behind.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (4.15): I thank Mr Steel for raising this important issue in the Assembly today, and I am really pleased that the government understands how essential it is to broaden the range of Canberrans who are empowered to have their say on the future of our city. As a result of the parliamentary agreement, the government is required to strengthen the community consultation process, including the use of deliberative democracy strategies so that diverse views are taken into account in major project proposals.
The Greens have always been in favour of consultation and good processes, and the Greens have also always been in favour of getting diverse citizens more involved in government decision-making as one way to improve confidence in democracy and
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video