NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ - Dalby, Queensland, Australia, 2008/01/27 - Barry O’Shea, candidate for Mayor of the new Dalby Regional Council, in mid-western Queensland, has joined the world of “cyber-politics” .

His political address on YouTube has already had 3,500 viewings in an election with no more than 20,000 voters and that’s all in a little over a week.
“Despite what some might think, country people are great users of the Internet and quite computer savvy.” Mr O’Shea said.

“With the new regional council being the same area as Denmark, local government leaders have to use the latest technology to communicate with people.”

Internet campaigning attracted media attention during the 2007 Australian Federal election and is currently playing a significant role in the current US Presidential election.
“It’s a two way street” he said. “Voters can also use the YouTube site to make comments and ask questions.”

No stranger to local government, Barry O’Shea has been Deputy Mayor of Dalby for four years and a member of the Dalby Town Council for 10 years but this is the first time he has used the internet to campaign.
“It can’t replace real human contact,” Mr O’Shea said.

“But, the internet can be one tool that rural and regional local government can use to overcome the communication problems created by the new local council mergers.”

The Dalby Regional Council elections will be conducted by postal ballot and are set for the first week of March. This is the first election since the amalgamation of the Wambo, Tara, Murilla, Chinchilla and Dalby shires.

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