(Cross-posted from the Official Google Australia Blog)

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Australia Blog)

The Australian public sector has a great track record of embracing the web. Australia was the first country to launch a Google election site in 2007, the NSW government map makes public spending more transparent, and the recently announced Government 2.0 taskforce has been charged with accelerating Government onto the web.

Australians spend more time online than on any other media, and more people access government information online than in any other way. The Internet makes government more transparent and accountable and has opened up communication between politicians and their constituents.

In this spirit Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, tonight launched Google for the Public Sector, www.google.com.au/publicsector, a guide to the tools and best practice for the public sector to reach, communicate and engage with their communities.

Many of these products are used by governments around the world to:

• Foster direct and open communication (YouTube, AdWords, Blogger)
• Encourage participation in public debate (Moderator)
• Tap into the public pulse (News Alerts, Insights for Search)
• Target and maximize online presence (Webmaster tools, Analytics)
• Lead the shift to cloud computing (Apps, Enterprise)

To see these tools in action: 



Posted by Iarla Flynn, Head of Public Policy