History
The site was launched after a 2007 survey suggesting it would be an official government-run service. (Correction - Open Forum was always intended as an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit project. It is an initiative of Global access Partners http://www.globalaccesspartners.org/) It subsequently launched as an online think-tank (with some support from the Australian Government, and operated by Global Access Partners. It has managed, nonetheless, to attract writing from high-profile public figures, including Federal Parliamentarians such as Tony Abbott and Tanya Plibersek.
The site was the official public online forum for the Australian 2020 Summit "inviting Australian’s from all walks of life to get involved and post their ideas"; although it was not the avenue for official submissions to the Summit.
Website
Open Forum solicits articles and opinions from Australian policy-makers, business leaders and the general public alike. The site claims:
It provides a platform for focused dialogue on social, political, economic, ecological and cultural issues and challenges. The Forum is registration-based and enables participants to make connections, share their opinions and concerns, test their ideas, raise and discuss specific topics, suggest solutions and ultimately contribute to policy development and economic outcomes for government and business, as well as the democratic process in general.
Anyone can join Openforum.com.au for free. Contributions are free and unpaid. They are not immediately published. Some posts and links have been removed from posts in the past where deemed inappropriate by the Blogger-in-Chief. The current Blogger-in-Chief of Open Forum is Sally Rose. Previous Bloggers-in-chief have been Jeanne-Vida Douglas and Tamara Plakalo.