ICT Leaders Online Election Forum 2005

This Thursday evening InternetNZ, in partnership with a number of related ICT organisations, convened an Election Forum, for political parties to present and defend their policies relating to information and communications technology policy.

David Cunliffe MP (Labour Party), Maurice Williamson MP (National Party) and Mikaere Curtis (Green Party) faced questions from a panel of journalists (Paul Brislen, IDG / Computerworld; and Kate McLaughlin, National Business Review) on where they see the future of this industry, where they want to take it, and why.

Moderated by barrister Peter Dengate Thrush, the debate commenced with an hour-long session where the speakers responded to pre-prepared questions covering the wide range of issues relating to ICT and telecommunications policy.

In the second hour the politicians took questions from the audience, channelled through the journalist panel, and took live questions from the Wellington audience moderator, Phil O’Reilly, CEO of BusinessNZ. Online participants were able to participate in the debate through submitting questions via a web based chat channel.

This Forum provided a unique opportunity for anyone interested in ICT and telecommunications issues to put questions to the politicians who will be making critical decisions about the future regulatory environment for communications and information technology in New Zealand. InternetNZ feels that this "proof of concept" of the technologies may lead to a whole new method of engagement in political discussions for special interest groups wishing to engage in detailed debates in specialised areas of policy. Remote participation is encouraged to make this event a success.

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