‘The greatest challenge of our time is to find ways and moments to enable democratic citizens to be citizens, to learn how to sit together, to reason together about what makes for a just society.’ Michael Sandel, Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University.
We innovate in how we do democracy.
NewDemocracy is an independent, non-partisan research and development organisation. We aim to discover, develop, demonstrate, and disseminate complementary alternatives which will restore trust in public decision making.
We conduct real world trials using random selection and deliberation - the jury model - as a central process.
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We think a complementary house of randomly selected people - A Citizens' Senate - could be trialed as a third House of Parliament.
We might be wrong, and that’s why we think a fair method for studying this measure, along with any others, is to put the question to a Convention, and let them spend some months deliberating on the measures.
The Irish Constitutional Convention of 2012 is a precedent in this regard.
The Irish had a mix of everyday people selected by lot (as in a jury) together with politicians - two thirds/one third.
In Australia, we could do something similar to consider: ‘How can we do democracy better?’ and report back to Parliament.
Submissions would come from all and sundry on how to improve our government.
Democracy is more than ‘the vote’ - it’s a way of organising ourselves, for no other reason than for ourselves.
In the Media
Canberra’s churn just isn’t cutting it with voters
Dr Andy Marks, Daily Telegraph, 9 April 2018
We can give the thumbs-up. Heck, we can even be angry, sad, surprised, ecstatic or loved-up, but Facebook will never grant users a thumbs-down button. Why? Because the embattled social media goliath wants us to have “more meaningful interactions” with each other. Of...
Why Voting Needs To Be Reinvented
Picture a candidate out on the hustings today. In Western Sydney, he or she visits a kindergarten and shares messages about spending public money on teachers and after-school care.
Later that day the candidate dons a hard hat and talks about a commitment to jobs and making sure the engine room of industry is there for...
Le Monde - Les élus devraient écouter les excellentes solutions proposées par leurs concitoyens
newDemocracy Foundation Research Director and David Pritchard have their article republished in Le Monde. You will be able to translate the webpage here. The print copy is...
World Economic Forum: When citizens set the budget: lessons from ancient Greece
Today elected representatives take the tough decisions about public finances behind closed doors. In doing so, democratic politicians rely on the advice of financial bureaucrats, who, often, cater to the political needs of the elected government. Politicians rarely ask voters what they...
Our Work
Small format deliberative process for Rural Councils
Local councils are uniquely placed to engage deliberatively with their community. They make complex trade-off decisions that need to be tailored to local needs. Traditionally, this level of engagement has been too difficult for small councils, and so surveys and self-selected groups are default options. These are both too easy to ignore and...
ACT Government - Housing Choices
Read the Collaboration Hub Report here.
The ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate is conducting a review of Housing Choices in the ACT. The next stage of engagement will comprise a consultation method that helps reach...
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