Novel idea by UK government

Not that the UK government is anymore democratic than the New Zealand government (they don't have Binding Referendums either), but

they have shown some initiative by providing an online petition forum link text It's a government website that allows you to support an existing petition as well as start a new one. While being a far cry from having Binding Referendums it would be a step in the right direction for the New Zealand government to adopt with very little cost to them.

The site says, "Petitions have long been sent to the Prime Minister by post or delivered to the Number 10 door in person. You can now both create and sign petitions on this website too, giving you the opportunity to reach a potentially wider audience and to deliver your petition directly to Downing Street."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown says, "The e-petitions service remains a vital tool for communicating your thoughts on things that matter to you and your communities, and I hope you will also sign up to our regular newsletters so that we can keep you informed about everything that is going on. Conversation, after all, should be a two-way process."

Eventually all referendum and voting will be available online. I will be posting an article soon on e-voting in Australia. The Clerk of the House's office in NZ is looking into this as well but is taking a "slow as she goes" attitude with possible testing as far off as 2012.