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Citizens' Parliament Final Report |
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Executive Summary Australia’s first Citizens’ Parliament was held at Old Parliament House in Canberra from February 6th to 9th, 2009. One hundred and fifty people from across Australia spent four days discussing and deliberating about Australian democracy and how it could be improved. Everyone involved learnt a great deal about our system of government, how politics works and when and where citizens can have their say. They tried to imagine what a more citizen- friendly, accessible government might look like in the 21st century. Factors including the professionalization of politics and the decline of party membership have left many citizens excluded from the political system. The Citizens’ Parliament explored new ways to politically engage citizens in a modern democracy. |
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Read more...
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There has been a noticeable and growing malaise in the electorate. |
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"This is manifest in the decline of public faith in politics and politicians over the last decade, a consistent finding of many different polls. Australia has failed to keep pace with many of the initiatives that have taken place in other established democracies. The election of the Rudd Government and a newly formed Opposition offer outstanding opportunities for long term, non-partisan democratic reform.” ‘Democracy under Siege’ by David Yencken & Nicola Henry
Published by the The Australian Collaboration, 2008. |
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The newDemocracy interviews |
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