For #electionWIRE, our reporters are using cameras that are just as small and cheap.  I’ve been impressed by the diversity of stories they’ve pumped out already: rap videos, electoral analysis and even satire.

And I’m also in awe of some of the content been sent to us from the general public.  One of my favourite vids has been made by a nerdish looking alterego called Pittaway: his username on Youtube is prufrok1.  He looks like the lovechild of Christopher Pyne and John Faulkner and his analysis of safe seats is hilarious.  Who knew a photocopy and a glass of wine put together could be so funny!

Little cameras have also shown us how uncreative press secretaries have been during this campaign.  The ALP’s videos on their YouTube page are about as interesting as a chess competition on New Years’ Eve.   They are so formulaic — I reckon they should take a page or two from our citizen journalists.

Here’s some advice for making good videos using camera phones and whatnot…

• When recording keep the camera still as possible. It’s better to shoot a very still shot with a lot of action.  Don’t wave it around like a deranged lunatic.
• Try not to overuse the zoom. Often the pictures you are filming tell a story and all the zooms are distracting.  People think using cameras as binoculars is innovative but the end result is primitive pictures
• Get people’s reaction to what they are seeing. People’s reactions can be just as important as the action itself.
• Film yourself and your first impressions of what you are seeing.
• If people tell you tell you to stop filming and you don’t feel as though your safety is in danger don’t stop filming- often those people are telling you that because they don’t want to be caught doing something wrong.  But don’t put your life at risk: if you can though, record people telling you to stop filming because if they are doing something wrong, those words make them look suspicious.
• If you are filming different shots, try and keep each shot going for 10 to 12 seconds… people need time to digest what they are seeing.
• Conserve battery power: if you think something big will come film for just 10 minutes and then film more later.
• Sound is important. The sound tells as much about the scene as the picture does so you don’t always need to narrate what’s going on.

Cameras empower people.   That’s why I love them.   Even camera phones in the right hands can shine a light in dark corners.     Citizen journalists have made a huge difference in exposing what is going on under repressive regimes.  The images they capture can be more powerful than any soldier’s bullet.

A case in point is the award winning video showing the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman in Iran during the 2009 protests which captivated hundreds of thousands of views on cable television and Arab TV.  When foreign journalists were expelled by the country’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it was left to citizens with simple cameras to give the world a glimpse of what’s going on.

And then there’s the tireless work of citizen video journalists for the Democratic Voice of Burma. They don’t just risk arrest, they put their lives on the line everytime they go out and film protests.

Even in Africa video news is gathered using mobile phones in countries like Tanzania.  Some people question the merit of ordinary people filming events around them in this fashion, arguing that their viewpoint distorts the truth.  But honestly, I’d always prefer a citizen reporter’s perspective to none at all.  And everyone, including the impoverished and downtrodden, deserves a voice.

I’ve covered a lot of natural disasters — earthquakes, bushfires and other traumatic events.  It often humbles me to see what things people have shot on their phones or cameras in the hairiest situation they’ll ever witness.  Sometimes they apologise for swearing during a traumatic event but the composure it takes to take such amazing defies belief.  I often say, “Mate, getting rid of the sound is the least I can do for you.”

Would the history books tell a different story if they had access to “user generated footage”? Just think of the pieces of history that went missing in the 20^th century…  I mean, cameras back then were so big, heavy and cumbersome!  News cameraman had to put their film stock on planes and it would take a day — or two or even three — to get the film and process it.  Nowadays people can shoot stuff and send it almost instaneously.  I sometimes wonder what the world would be like without digital cameras.

I once heard someone liken the issue of climate change to that of smoking 30 years ago. The vast majority of evidence demonstrated that smoking caused cancer, but there was some evidence (mostly from research funded by tobacco companies) that this was not the case. This is analogous to the current debate over climate change. The vast majority of research shows that human activity, specifically the emission of greenhouse gases, causes climate change; there are a few theories and some evidence (mostly from research funded by major polluters) that this is not the case. The question that we must now ask ourselves is, do we act now on the evidence that we have, or do we wait, and potentially give the world the environmental equivalent of cancer?

It is this moral, economic and social trade of that makes climate change such a huge issue politically. Each and every person around the world will be affected by a changing climate, but we do not all contribute equally to the problem. Regardless, we will all have to shoulder the burden of both mitigating the problem, and adapting to the unavoidable climate change already underway.

Research over the last 20 or so years has shown that we are currently facing an unavoidable rise in global temperatures of 1-2 degrees Celsius by 2100. The international consensus seems to be that countries should work together to restrain global temperature rises to 2-3 degrees to avoid environmental catastrophe and the economic and social consequences of that. To this end, Australia needs to reduce its carbon emissions by 60-90% of that released in 2000 by 2050.

That is a lot of work to be done in a relatively short period of time. It becomes even shorter when we put that number, 40 years, into perspective. In 2050, I will be younger than my mother is now- to me that really drives home the point that climate change is not some distant problem for future generations to deal with- the problems that it poses are immediate and will only intensify in the future. Climate change is our problem to deal with, or to live with the consequences.

Indeed, there is considerable support within the Australian population for immediate and significant action on climate change. According to research recently conducted by Left Right Think Tank, this is especially true for young Australians. Indeed, the research showed that young Australians wanted substantial action on climate change, which aimed to reduce current emissions and fund research into renewable technology, and most were willing to “pay more” if such action was take. The study showed that many young Australians were dissatisfied with the current policies as they are perceived as not doing enough to combat the problem. Respondents also expressed real fears that there would be too much delay in passing legislation that would have a substantial impact, resulting in irreversible damage to the environment.

Despite this, neither of the major political parties seems capable of summoning the will to really act on climate change. Watching the leaders’ debate on Sunday, I couldn’t help but notice the distinct lack of leadership on this issue. Neither Julia Gillard, nor Tony Abbott where ready or willing to lead in the difficult task of setting a cap on carbon and ensuring that we meet that target. On the contrary, the policies that Labor and the Lib/Nationals have offered are smokescreens for their lack of commitment to real action on climate change. Both have stated that they aim to reduce emissions by 5% by 2020, with a possible rise to 15% if there is international commitment to a climate change agreement.

Under Gillard, the Labor Party has taken a massive step back from the Emissions Trading Scheme proposed under Rudd. Instead, Gillard has proposed a “citizen’s assembly” to encourage community consensus on a cap on carbon. For many this flies in the face of the mandate given to Labor at the last election to act on this issue. Labor’s political stasis was further emphasised during the leaders’ debate when Gillard refused to outline what sort of deadline we are on to take action on the issue before it is too late to meet our target of 5% by 2020.

Just as disappointingly, Tony “Climate-Change-is-Crap” Abbott has put forward a policy that does practically nothing to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by Australian firms. Instead, the Coalition’s policy aims meet targets through measures such as green infrastructure, planting trees and funding incentives to business and industry to reduce emissions if they should so choose. The problem with this plan is that we will eventually have to put a cap on carbon emissions if we are to meet the targets required to keep climate change to a manageable level. Not dealing with current emissions means that we are not dealing with the problem.

The longer that our government delays the implementation of such a scheme the more extreme the action we will need to take when one is implemented. This shows how shallow the climate change policies of the major parties are; rather than creating a policy that allows us to slowly adjust to changes required to mitigate climate change, both parties are creating a situation in which later governments will need to step up and make even more difficult choices to address the challenges that we will inevitably face.

As such, I would suggest to both leaders that they stand up and show some courage on the issue of climate change. We need our leaders to explain to the Australian people that the cost of mitigating climate change will be less if we pay now, as higher costs in the immediate future will reduce costs in the long run. Indeed, it should also be noted that even with significant curbs on our emissions our economy is projected to continue to grow (and not at dissimilar rates to that if we did not act to mitigate climate change). We need our leaders to explain the extreme costs of not acting, both economic and environmental.

Most importantly, we need leaders with moral courage and the integrity to take action now.

It also houses an initiative called Student Voice 2010 which allows 15-18 year olds to participate in a mock election. The results of this election will be tallied the week before the federal election and mapped against the final election results.  The Greens have campaigned for optional voting for 16 and 17 year olds but neither Labor nor the Liberals have indicated any intention to lower the voting age. What do you think? Should younger Australians be able to vote?

The Google event brought together members of the #electionWIRE team, school students from Sydney and politicians. ALP Senator Kate Lundy and Liberal Member for Bradfield Paul Fletcher bickered about whether or not the National Broadband Network was a good idea or not – and the journalists present had a few questions on the matter too. You can read Senator Lundy’s speech here.

The audience also heard from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam who compared old style electioneering – the soporific leaders’ debate – to the new style campaigning which takes place online. He argued that politics is far too important to leave to the politicians – and we here at #electionWIRE couldn’t agree more. The campaign thus far mightn’t be interesting, but there real reasons to participate and liven things up.

And finally, Doug Orr of the Australian Electoral Commission was also on the panel and he stressed the need to give people enough information to participate fully in the elections. His stress on the importance of active citizenship for young people is something that resonates with the ethos of Vibewire and the #electionWIRE project.

Check out your electorate on the Google election page and tell us what the big issues are for you!

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.

The Centre for Policy Development (CPD) is a public interest think tank dedicated to seeking out creative, viable ideas and innovative research to inject into Australia’s policy debates. We give a diverse community of thinkers space to imagine solutions to Australia’s most urgent challenges, and we do what it takes to make their ideas matter.

What is Policy ?
Practices: Web Video
Tools: Internet

We welcome contributions of all political persuasions and tones: conservative, radical, progressive, libertarian, cynical, supportive, dissenting, critical or otherwise.

We’re looking for all kinds of videos about the 2010 Australian federal election: hard-hitting political analysis, vox pops and door-stops, interviews, satire and parody, how-tos and explainers, pranks, press conference antics, breaking news and contextual information.

Your videos should not be longer than 5 minutes — and we’d prefer they were closer to 2 or 3 minutes long.

When you’re posting your video, make sure you put #electionWIRE at the start of the title so that work can be easily found in a search engine. When you’re filling in the information fields about your video, include as much information as you can about the video so that users will have a fair idea of what they’re going to see. If your video is a response to an article or event, put the link into your description of the video.

All contributions to electionWIRE will be reviewed by the inhouse editorial team before they go public on the site.

We reserve the right to delete content that we consider to be abusive, defamatory, discriminatory or otherwise unlawful.

Content that promotes hate of any kind or doesn’t make sense may also be removed from the site, as will content that has nothing to do with the electionWIRE project.

Repeat offenders will be blocked from contributing to electionWIRE.

Australia is one of the few countries in the world to require all citizens over 18 years old to vote. So when an election is called, there’s a rush to get those voters who aren’t enrolled onto the books. And who are the people who are unlikely to be enrolled? Young people. This week we saw queues snaking outside Australian Electoral Commission offices across the nation as people rushed to get enrolled. The #electionWIRE Melbourne team talked to people waiting in the cold to enrol – and looked into the historical background to voter enrolment in Australia. Watch their story here.

Are you enrolled? Do you have any ideas about how enrollment procedures could be improved for young people?

Months of speculation ended last weekend when Julia Gillard announced the date for the federal election: 21^st August 2010. That’s less than a month away and over the weekend, the party wonks, spin doctors and strategists hunkered down to work out how their plans to nab your vote.

And at #electionWIRE HQ, we’ve been plotting and planning as to how to nab your attention throughout the campaign. Our team of reporters across the nation have hit the streets and are set to provide you with new perspectives on the election campaign.  You can check out their intro videos on the site now. You’ll be getting to know all the teams very well through the campaign.

As soon as you watch the intros, you’ll work out that #electionWIRE is no ordinary election channel.  Our reporters are going to be tackling a broad range of campaign issues – from internet censorship to gay rights to industrial relations. They’ll be talking about climate change and education, about Indigenous affairs and immigration policy. The teams will be out on the street vox popping young people in marginal seats across Australia to find out what the issues that matter most to them are. You’ll see satire and you’ll see straight political reporting. You’ll see pranks and you’ll see tough interviews. And you won’t see the cliches about yoof affairs that get bandied around in other media outlets.

There’s plenty of ways for you to get involved with #electionWIRE. If you’ve got suggestions for stories, let us know! You can do so here.  Even better, you can submit stories yourself. You can submit videos made on your mobile phone or more technically complex work. Check out the training videos on the channel for some production pointers.

Enjoy! We’ll look forward to hearing from you.

ElectionWIRE is a space where hard-hitting journalism meets insightful user-generated content to present the issues defining the Federal Election for young Australians.

Vibewire Youth Inc and YouTube have teamed up to ensure that it’s covered your way.

We’ve engaged 12 of the brightest reporters from the next generation. They’re stationed across the nation awaiting your questions and suggestions. The project will be overseen by seasoned political reporters and editors.

You too can set the agenda by uploading your own reports, animations or opinion pieces!

Vibewire has launched electionWIRE on YouTube, a channel for young Australians to have their say and to report the news of the upcoming federal election their way.

electionWIRE will feature video news, interviews, opinions and debate from a team of newly recruited and trained Vibewire reporters , alongside citizen contributors from the YouTube community. The new recruits have been unleashed across Australia, armed with cameras, guided by questions and ideas uploaded to the electionWIRE YouTube channel, and supported by a senior editorial team. Whether they’re talking about youth unemployment, immigration, the ETS, homelessness or health, reporters for electionWIRE will be asking the hard questions and getting unpredictable answers.