The Byron Shire is well known as a domestic and international tourist destination, with over two million annual visitors. Local residents and tourists alike place significant value on the unique character of the area and its lifestyle. The conundrum before Council is how to balance protection of that character with demands for more, and higher...Continue reading
We come from different political backgrounds and views but we share one strong central belief — our political system appears to be broken. It’s time to fix it and we hope this is the year that the fix starts. We need to try some bold ideas. Tinkering with the edges won’t repair a toxic system...Continue reading
Welcome to our final update for the year on all things newDemocracy. It has been a busy close to the year for newDemocracy. Projects have concluded and foundations are being laid for next year’s large projects. We’ve seen a flurry of events from Athens to Melbourne, all focused on doing democracy better. Athens Democracy Forum: Kofi Annan’s Push for One Major...Continue reading
Australia has just conducted “probably our boldest electoral experiment since the military conscription plebiscites of 1916 and 1917”, in the words of Liberal Senator Dean Smith, the author of the private member’s bill that will now carry the result of the marriage plebiscite into law. “At a time when public faith in political institutions is...Continue reading
Welcome to the September issue of our research newsletter. In this issue, we revisit our largest ever project in the South Australia Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engagement Jury. We look at what worked well, what didn’t work, and look to areas of improvement for taking citizens’ juries into the future. This is a must read for those interested in any...Continue reading
This piece is a reflection by Iain Walker, Executive Director of Australia’s newDemocracy Foundation and a guest at a recent PACE member gathering. The message I share is well-worn and I can roll into reformist evangelism when first woken if need be. I’ve delivered it to senators and skeptical TV audiences with a smile. Yet...Continue reading
Recently, Matt Ryan, former Deputy-Chief of Staff to South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, spoke at an event in Spain organised by the Regional Government of Gipuzkoa, a region in the Basque Country in northern Spain. The government has established an agenda entitled “Etorkizuna Eraikiz” or “Building the Future” which explicitly links the future prosperity of...Continue reading
September 12, 2017 The arrival of 16 million same-sex Marriage Law Survey forms in post boxes from today is more than just a historic moment in the campaign for marriage equality. It is also the first time in 18 years that Australian voters have been given the chance to “vote” directly on an issue — rather...
Lyn Carson – Research Director, The newDemocracy Foundation What is the question? In 2016, newDemocracy had oversight of a massive public deliberation in South Australia on the extremely contentious issue of nuclear waste storage. It was our biggest project to date. Any journey into the unknown is a rich site for learning, and this project...
Lyn Carson – Research Director, The newDemocracy Foundation What is the question? When assembling a randomly-selected group of people, for example in a citizens’ jury (see, Sample Size for mini-publics), what attributes are most important for the group members if they are to handle complex matters? What are the usual answers? This question is...