We thank the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into constitutional reforms and referendums. Our submission is focused on the second item in the Terms of Reference – Suggestions for mechanisms to review the Australian Constitution and for community consultation on any...Continue reading
Read the full document here. Parliamentary Committees are the backbone of our Parliament. They scrutinise problems and policy as MPs on these committees develop expertise in their particular subject areas, bringing an informed view to the consideration of legislation. At their best, they showcase elected representatives from all sides working together on the in-depth exploration...Continue reading
We thank The House of Lords Constitution Committee and Baroness Taylor of Bolton for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into the future governance of the United Kingdom (UK). While we note the Committee has posed six specific questions, one theme unites them all and one public sentiment underpins the reason for this inquiry:...Continue reading
We thank the Senate’s Standing Committees on Finance and Public Administration for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into the current capability of the Australian Public Service (APS). We recommend that the APS improve its public engagement capacity by (a) adopting and (b) measuring adherence to OECD-standard deliberative engagement practice. These deliberative processes build...Continue reading
You can read the full report here and highlights here. The OECD has collected evidence and data that support the idea that citizen participation in public decision making can deliver better policies, strengthen democracy, and build trust. This report focuses on representative deliberative processes in particular, as part of a wider effort by democratic institutions...Continue reading
This inquiry being held by the NSW Upper House’s Procedures Committee has two terms of reference: one on the usage of Green and White Papers as cornerstones of government policy development, and the second on the applicability for using deliberative processes to assist the parliament when bills are highly contentious. Those interested in this work...Continue reading
Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Nationhood, National Identity and Democracy If you only read (and perhaps share) one government discussion paper this year, then make it this one. In a concise 8pg document the Federal Senate has outlined global threats to democracy across the world and its scope to affect Australia. This is exactly...Continue reading
After each election (state and federal) a joint committee holds an inquiry into its conduct as an opportunity for any concerns to be aired, and we take this opportunity inject opportunities for democratic innovation. This paper advocates five concepts – That everyday people should be a central part of the election review due to the...Continue reading
We thank the Electoral Matters Committee for the invitation to make a submission. Around the world, confidence in representative democracy is under siege. Citizens are moving beyond cynicism to disengagement, and the potential for further decline is clear. Viewed more positively, it is clear that a jurisdiction that successfully finds a way to counter this...Continue reading
Over the last ten years, we have been approached many times with requests to get involved in a project relating to the media environment – a request we have always refused. Why? We think there are two ways to define and discuss democracy. One is to take a broad view where we think of democracy...Continue reading