(selective excerpts from ‘A Citizen Legislature’ by E. Callenbach and M Phillips reproduced with the authors’ permission.) Many reformers recognise the threat of money in politics, but solutions that only deal with campaign spending have failed to reach the root of the problem. The Citizen Legislature is a scientific way to select legislators so they...Continue reading
Drawn from the work of Prof. Ethan Leib, University of California A basic tenet of western democracies is for a Constitution which provides for three basic branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative. But with parliaments seemingly increasingly unrepresentative of the people they govern, it is suggested that a fourth branch should be added –...Continue reading
A consensus conference brings together lay people and subject matter experts to identify common ground in topics where there is technological or scientific complexity, and where key aspects of the issue are uncertain, contested or controversial. Generally the ratio of lay citizens (or “Citizen Panellists”) to experts is 2:1. In operation, the panel receives a...Continue reading
Based on the paper ‘Democracy Through Multi-Body Sortition’ by Terry Bouricius, published to the Journal of Public Deliberation (Vol.9 Iss. 1, Article 11. Available here). This model seeks to divide the activities of lawmaking among several groups with different functions and different characteristics. The members of these bodies would be randomly selected rather than being...
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
The Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology, Sydney. The newDemocracy Foundation conducted a Citizens’ Policy Jury on the issue of a safe and vibrant nightlife in Sydney during early 2014. The Jury is an example of a deliberative democracy approach that gives citizens a chance to participate directly in decision-making about policy issues....Continue reading
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
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
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
