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
As far as referenda go, I think there’s general agreement on this: to ask Australians to consider, at the same referendum, two questions — one on Indigenous voice, and the other on a republic — is too big an ask. Nevertheless, we could do what the Irish did in 2012. Ireland held a Citizens’ Constitutional...
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
Read the full report here. Summary video. Western Sydney University is partnering with The newDemocracy Foundation to run a world-first students’ assembly that openly shares the problem of student representation with students themselves. This project announces WSU as a leader in democratic innovation and student politics, setting the standard for Australian universities and drawing the...Continue reading
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to host a virtual summit this week for leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector to discuss the renewal of democracy. We can expect to see plenty of worthy yet predictable issues discussed: the threat of foreign agents interfering in elections, online disinformation, political polarization, and the...Continue reading
With so many independents running, there’s a suggestion that Australia is on the precipice of a tectonic shift in politics. If only. These aspiring independents are launching their campaigns replete with catchy slogans, brightly coloured posters and t-shirts, and all the razzamatazz of politics-as-usual. “They’re not calling them parties at the moment, but that’s not...Continue reading
The November 2017 Symposium event convened by newDemocracy sought to challenge opinion leaders by asking them what practical testable improvements could be made to our democracy in order to improve public trust in how we make public decisions. It sought to move the discussion from one of complaint about problems into one of potential solutions....Continue reading
This guide from Wesminster 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 citizens...Continue reading
A widely held view is that governments rely heavily on polling to make decisions. Our experience, drawn from liaising with MPs, government agencies and stakeholders, is that polling is infrequently drawn upon and that MPs will often rely on anecdotal evidence – people who contact the MP directly through their offices being one example. At...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