In what has been dubbed a world first by social media giant Twitter, the ACT government is preparing to broadcast a cabinet meeting on streaming platform Periscope.
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Chief Minister Andrew Barr will announce on Friday the government's next social media-based cabinet meeting on August 31 will give Canberrans the chance to watch live online via the streaming application.
Twitter cabinet meetings are designed to give ACT residents the chance to engage with government ministers on social media. The new addition of Periscope, an application-based platform owned by Twitter, will allow individuals to watch the event live on their smart phones.
Mr Barr said the video stream will give viewers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the government's social media engagement.
The Periscope broadcast will be hosted by Her Canberra website founder and director Amanda Whitley.
This week the government announced a series of pop-up cabinet events across the ACT, bringing together voters and politicians to talk about issues in the community.
Government members will be present from 9am to 3pm on the ground floor at Westfield Woden. Voters can make a 15-minute one-on-one appointment with ministers.
"My government is committed to ensuring all Canberrans get an opportunity to engage with their local MLAs," Mr Barr said.
"The Twitter cabinet is a further measure to give Canberrans better access to their local representatives. For one hour, ministers will be in the Assembly cabinet room responding directly to their constituents."
The August 31 online event will take place from 7:30pm until 8:30pm.
Participants can submit questions on Twitter by using one of the government ministers' individual handles or by including the hashtag #CBRCabinet.
Twitter Australia partnerships manager Flip Prior said streaming the event was an example of "open government in action".
"A world first by the ACT government, it demonstrates their progressiveness in adopting new technologies, as well as their willingness to engage with their electorate to respond to questions in real time," Ms Prior said.
"We'd love to see more cabinets follow suit."
Periscope users can follow Chief Minister Andrew Barr via his @ABarrMLA handle.
