How would you like to actively participate shaping government policies, not just indirectly through your vote? Citizen juries allow just that. State and local governments have started to use citizen juries to address issues like infrastructure, budgeting or reforming the electoral system. These participatory democracy projects could radically alter the way all tiers of Australian...Continue reading
Media
Ideas for SA shouldn’t be preserve of elites
InDaily, Adelaide Independent NewsJay Weatherill 25 May 2015 It is true that the power of our ideas will help to drive and sustain South Australia’s future. But when we think about “the next big things” it is important to ask who gets to decide what these are – and who gets included in the discussion. As...Continue reading
Transfield’s Luca Belgiorno-Nettis branches into information technology
Luca Belgiorno-Nettis wasn’t exactly born with a silver shovel in his mouth, but you suspect a well-worn hard hat was resting somewhere in the nursery. In 1954, his Italian parents Franco and Amina had yet to amass what would become a vast fortune off the back of the nation’s post-war regeneration. Here was a pioneering...Continue reading
True democracy lies in the hands of everyday people
Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, Comment | Sydney Morning Herald10 May 2015 On display in Canberra’s Parliament House is a 13th century copy of a famous agreement. In 1215, King John acceded to the demands of his rebellious barons and signed the ‘Articles’ at Runnymede, near Windsor. This year marks the 800th anniversary of that event and there are celebrations...Continue reading
Radio National Future Tense. Citizens juries and deliberative democracy
Sunday 28 September 2014. Presented by Anthony Funnell There’s a growing public disenchantment with democracy and the modern political process. So, here’s a solution: citizens’ juries—ordinary people who are given the information and training to make decisions on civic issues. It’s all part of an approach known as deliberative democracy, aiming to build stronger and...Continue reading
ABC LATELINE: Voters should have more say in policy
Australian Broadcasting Corporation | Broadcast: 02/09/2014 | Reporter: Margot O’Neill Australians could be encouraged to re-engage with the political system if they were given more say in big policy decisions. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT AND VIDEO
Darebin’s citizen jury calls for Preston community house
The Weekly Review Melbourne Times. By Sian Watkins| 10:08:AM 02/09/2014 A group of Darebin residents given $2 million by Darebin Council have recommended that it be spent on establishing a community house in East Preston and improving the hilltop area of All Nations Park. The “citizens’ jury” also recommended that the council install exercise equipment...
Darebin: Jury allocates cash
RESIDENTS HAVE SAY ON COUNCIL SPENDING On Preston Leader, Melbourne by Julia Irwin ADDRESSING disadvantage was a priority for Dare- bin’s first citizens’ jury when it delivered its verdict on how to spend $2 million from the city’s budget. Darebin is believed to be the first council in Victoria to introduce participatory budgeting, which gives resi-...Continue reading
For democracy’s sake, give power to the people
Nicholas Reece, THE AGE, 1 September 2014. A radical experiment in democracy has begun at Melbourne Town Hall. But it does not involve online activism, marching in the streets, or the Occupy Movement. Instead it draws on the earliest democratic traditions together with some new thinking from social scientists to trial a new approach to...
ABC The Drum. Ten ideas to fix government
By Beverly Parungao As a slew of ICAC inquiries tear through NSW politics, a group of experts pitch their ideas to fix government. Do these plans have merit, and are there other proposals that should be pushed? Beverly Parungao writes. The St James Ethics Centre held a major debate on July 1st on ways to...Continue reading