RuthEllison.com

In an effort to appeal to the web savvy voters of Australia, Kevin Rudd, the Labor Leader, has launched his new website Kevin07 today. In addition to the website, Kevin Rudd also has a blog, facebook account, MySpace account and a YouTube account.

Opinions aside about the suitability of this candidate for the Aussie Prime Minister role, it does show that this politician (or at least his advisors) is aware of the implications of social networks by the way he has created accounts on the key social networking sites, rather than just concentrating on one social network (like MySpace). This strategy follows a similar one taken by the US politicians.

On a technical note after a very quick skim through the homepage, KEVIN07:

• validates to XHTML 1.0 Transitional.
• No major accessibility errors when checked with the WAVE tool.
• Passes Section 508 via automated checks using Cynthia Says.
• Doesn’t quite meet colour contrast checks in two spots (but the rest is ok), according to the AccessColor tool.
• Website is readable and content is in a logical order when CSS is turned off (no sign of tables for layout!).

It’s not the prettiest website and there’s some areas for improvement but overall, it’s not bad.

It looks like an ID Card. It smells like an ID Card. Heck, it even spooks you like an ID Card. But, as Australia’s carbon copy Commonwealth Prime Minister says, “it ain’t no ID card”.

Source: The Register - Aussies to get pseudo-ID Card

People are getting jitters over a proposed smart card. The smart card will be used to access welfare and health payments, and the estimated usage is about 11 million Australians.

From a Government point of view, this is definitely more efficient, and will make things easier for the end users - oh sorry, the “citizen”… and when I have my Government hat on, yes I can definitely see the benefits of efficiency, and stopping fraud and dole cheats.

…Australian Council of Civil Liberties president Terry O’Gorman said the breadth of government services that would require people to register for the card meant it would become a de facto national ID.

Source: News.com.au - Jitters over smart card

From a citizen’s point of view, there’s lots to think about.

Can’t say much more due to having my mouth sealed off with gaffa tape. But here’s the mandatory “the above are MY views, and do not necessarily reflect the views of my organisation” blah statements.