By Lindsay Tanner

How do we adapt the static and process driven world of the bureaucracy to the more dynamic and innovative world of the collaborative web?

Earlier in the week I was lucky enough to give the keynote address to the e-Government forum at CeBIT Australia. I say lucky because I come to this debate with a longstanding personal interest in the connection between new technologies and democratic renewal.

I was among the first Australian politicians to use YouTube and Facebook to interact with my constituents, especially my 673 Facebook friends.

I must have been amongst the trend setters as now a significant number of Australian politicians are interacting with electors online. What's clear is that the relatively basic types of engagement we are currently seeing in Australia are just the tip of a very large Web 2.0 iceberg.

And the government is keen to work with Web 2.0 technologies and integrate them into our approach.