Read our submission here. The newDemocracy Foundation commends the Victorian Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee for seeking to engage the public in the proposed re-design of the Victorian Upper House electoral system. newDemocracy is a not-for-profit foundation that advocates for innovative ways to modernise democracies. We are experts in how to deliver best-practice citizen engagement. We...Continue reading
Read our submission here. We thank the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into the administration of the 2023 NSW state election and other matters, including political donations and truth in political advertising. Reforms to the political donations and campaign financing laws in New South Wales must...Continue reading
President Biden convened the first Summit for Democracy following his election in 2021. The initial Summit focused on some ‘traditional’ democracy topics but tended to omit new and emerging approaches. newDemocracy was in contact with the US State Department to make the case that arguably Citizens Assemblies were arguably the most promising democratic innovation: in...Continue reading
We thank the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into the provisions of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022. Our submission is focused on the temporary disapplication of section 11 of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 (Cth). The relevant clause: Section 11 of the Referendum (Machinery...
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has published an explanatory memorandum that calls on the local and regional authorities of Council of Europe member States to implement deliberative methods. The memorandum heavily references newDemocracy’s work throughout. You can read the document here. Summary In recent years, governments have increasingly...Continue reading
You can read the guidelines here and the summary here. The OECD report Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions: Catching the Deliberative Wave (2020) demonstrated that public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens’ Assemblies, Citizens’ Juries, and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems. As the use of...Continue reading
This guide from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the newDemocracy Foundation is designed to support the needs of elected representatives and their advisors—those who would like to strengthen how elected politicians engage with their voters. It is meant for those decision-makers who want to be inspired by new and innovative ways to bring...Continue reading
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