General Archive

Welcome to the new website. I’ll be using this in place of my previous wordpress.com website. You’ll notice a new design and the placement of some subtle advertising. I’ll try and keep it out-of-the-way. The new website should also allow me to do more with my Google Earth maps, including providing more coverage on election nights. Stay tuned.

Sky News, Foxtel and Austar announced today that they will be launching a new network, A-SPAN, modelled on the US C-SPAN, which broadcasts live, unedited feeds of the US Congress.

The network will launch on January 20 broadcasting the inauguration of US President-Elect Barack Obama. In addition to broadcasting the Australian Parliament, A-SPAN apparently also plans to broadcast question time sessions from the Parliaments of NSW, Victoria and Queensland, as well as broadcasts from the NZ Parliament and the UK House of Commons.

Apparently it will be affiliated with C-SPAN, and will broadcast some of C-SPAN’s content on A-SPAN. Apparently, in addition there will be broadcasts of the Australian Parliament on C-SPAN (in the middle of the night when US members of Congress are sleeping), which is a fascinating idea.

It’s a bit unclear how all of this can be screened in only 24 hours a day. After all, C-SPAN is made up of three channels in addition to C-SPAN radio, but it’s still sure to be very interesting to see.

In addition to being part of the basic package of both Foxtel and Austar, it seems that A-SPAN will also be available online and digital free-to-air television.

It’s also a rare example of commercial media in Australia making a decision that isn’t simply driven by ratings, which is fantastic.

It looks like I’ve picked the perfect time to start an election blog, let’s look at the next month of elections:

• October 14 – Canadian General Election
• October 18 – ACT Legislative Assembly election
• October 18 – By-election in NSW state seats of Cabramatta, Lakemba, Port Macquarie, Ryde
• November 4 – US Presidential and Legislative election
• November 6 – By-election in Scottish Westminster seat of Glenrothes
• November 8 – NZ General Election

I’ll try and comment on all of these, but it’s gonna be pretty busy. Particularly this week as I try and cover Canada, NSW and ACT all at once, while getting a start on the US campaign.

Welcome to my new blog. I’ll be regularly posting about my interests, mainly political issues, with a particular focus on electoral politics and electoral systems. In the near future, look forward to commentary on the upcoming elections in Canada, New Zealand and the US, as well as the ACT legislative assembly election and by-elections in New South Wales.