I have launched a site, OpenAus that focuses on political and financial transparency in Australia. Launch of my project coincides with the #choppergate scandal which has made the honesty and integrity of our politicians the focus of public discussion and debate. Transparency has a big role to play in addressing mis-use of tax payer funds whether it is through entitlement spending or any other government approved purpose.
As a hashtag, #openaus reflects the aim of making Australian politics a more open and accountable forum. Open data has an important role to play in providing tools which allow users to track spending to the organisations, postcodes and electorates where that money ends up.
Open data and it's use in tracking government spending is a new frontier in Australia. The potential to provide the public with insights into the allocation of government funds is at its very beginning which means the potential at this juncture is immense.
As the owner of OpenAus and a full time advocate for political and financial transparency in Australia I invite you to participate in an ongoing discussion on financial and political transparency using the hashtag #openaus. Rather than just posting to me on Twitter, the hashtag allows other people to engage in the conversation and see what you are interested in.
You can post to this hashtag at your convenience and I am setting down Saturday mornings between 10am and 11am starting Saturday 15 August for more real-time discussion.
What you can post to #openaus:
-comments about politician entitlements or other issues in financial transparency eg grants funding or reporting, the allocation of tenders, the role of political donations etc.
-questions or suggestions on how these issues can be addressed
-resources eg articles, web sites, facts on government spending and/or political influence
-questions about how OpenAus works, support or background
Do drop in!