Virtual
Much of the Australian political system has remained unchanged over history. However in recent years, with the rise of globalization and social media, the virtual world has become an important stage in the political arena. Politicians have often taken advantage of resources such as Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter in order to send their ideas and philosophies directly to the Australian public. Popular news networks rule the political debate as it is the most easily accessible platform for average Australians to keep track of government processes. Although most of the country is separated from Canberra by large geographic distances, the virtual world enables an entire continent of people to observe from their living rooms, laptops, and smart phones.
Flexible
In discussing the virtual theme, we discovered that it was linked to flexibility. In the same way the system is benefited by the virtual world, virtual elements in the Australian political system also help to make it flexible. This is most evident in the field of public debate. Government processes are clearly adapted to suite aspects of 21st century debate, highlighting the enormous impact that virtual media and technology has on the present political system. The question is whether or not the political system is able to keep up with the pace of technology, and if it is taking enough advantage of the virtual world in order to optimize what is done in parliament. Perhaps now that the voting public is closer to their elected representatives than ever before, they can contribute more to the parliamentary process than simply having a say once every 4 years. Can the system be made more flexible in order to accommodate such changes?
Mobile
In much the same way flexibility is improved, mobility in our political system is also enhanced through virtual media. However the parliamentary process's interaction with the public largely remains virtual. The system could be made more mobile through more direct involvement in the political process by the public. This could also have architectural implications through the setting up of new institutions and facilities that could cater for improvements in this area.
Distribution
Today we see the impacts our system has on distribution more clearly than ever before due to people having greater access to the political debate. However, could it be possible that the way our political system has evolved to cater for more virtual access has had a detrimental effect on the way services and resources are distributed? Is having only a two-sided political debate an adequate way to cater for the needs of a culturally and intellectually diverse voting public?
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