Democracy is, arguably, the most important prize of social progress, but its development in the 21st century is frustrated by continuous campaigning and electioneering. Good government is compromised and we have lost sight of what democracy was originally designed to achieve.

The newDemocracy Foundation offers models that promote common ground.

We don’t need better politicians. We need a better system.

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The Australian Citizens’ Parliament (2009)

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Category: OCEANIA
Published on 30 March 2013
Written by Super User
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This was Australia’s largest deliberative event, convened on the topic of democratic reform – asking the question how Australia’s political system could be strengthened to serve us better. It brought together a representative sample of Australia drawn from each of our 150 electorates.

The project was funded by the newDemocracy Foundation with the support of the Australian Research Council.

This is a great example of what an Australian sample population would look like, and a proof point as to the difference in tone and productivity of discussion. People who today are not considered as candidates by any party showed capacity for engaging in a complex issue.

The group identified 6 key reform areas (the full report is attached), among them calls for reduced duplication between levels of government and across state boundaries, and inclusion of a process of redress for broken political promises – areas very rarely explored in parliament today.

We suggest the video material is of most value to the reader, as it offers a ‘live’ look at the capacity of randomly-drawn groups in comparison with traditional elected representatives.

Further Reading:
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