Are Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott actually conspiring to send Australia to sleep over the next four weeks?

In between the fair dinkums and the moving forwards neither leader strayed too far from their talking points in the first leaders’ debate of the election.  Gillard and Abbott weren’t allowed to interrupt each other and everybody played very nice. In fact, only the very polite MC David Speers got to interject and he was at pains not to abuse the privilege.

Even the various worms looked a bit bored – but at least those lucky 150 undecided voters in the studio audiences got to interact with the debate. Otherwise, a few lucky tweeters saw their posts flicker across the tickertape on Channel 9 – and everybody else got stuck talking to the television.

Fear not! At #electionWIRE, we’re planning on doing things a little differently. Our reporters have started posting videos on the site and you’re welcome to start debating the issues in the comments.

YouTubers and members of the #electionWIRE community are also getting in on the action. They’re submitting videos already – and you should too.

And the forum for submitting story ideas has exploded with suggestions. Log in to the #electionWIRE YouTube channel and click on Submit A Story to have your say. Not only can you tell the #electionWIRE reporters what sort of stories you want to see, you can comment on other people’s ideas and bump the best ones up the queue.

Here’s a sample of the ideas that our reporters are currently sorting through. Get yourself to the site and tell us what issues matter to you in this election – and we promise not to send you to sleep!

• The Net Filter: What happens if Labor is re-elected, will Stephen Conroy be resurrecting the idea?
• Do young people care about Australia’s involvement in the Iraq War? Or any war for that matter? Do they care enough to remove a government from power?
• Is government funding a benefit or a hindrance for culture and the arts?
• Asylum Seekers: Stories which cut through the spin to show where the parties stand, what their policies are based on — and maybe a history of Refugee policies over the past 15 years.
• How does the election work and how do the houses of parliament operate? It amazes me how little people know about elections, preferences, seats, houses, constitution people know. How can someone vote when they don’t know the system?
• A question about the ALP: Is the NBN really going to cost us about fifty billion dollars.please give a detailed breakdown of how you got to this figure. who are the shareholders in the company and the tax implications for working families. are there any other options?
• I would like to talk about the new driving laws and restrictions for L plate and P plate drivers. I have a personal view and opinion about it that i would like to get out there!!
• Hi electionWIRE – can you find out from politicians what they want Australia to be known for in 10 years time?
• I hear “Big Australia” is off the agenda. Shouldn’t we discuss this a bit further? Australia has a population (22m) just a touch more than the metro New York City area (19m). That’s just one city. How do we support our glorious country in the future?

Tell us what’s important to you this election campaign — and let’s have a good rowdy debate of our own!

For full election coverage head to the electionWIRE YouTube Channel.