by Patric Chalmers, The Guardian, Saturday 2 July 2016 These are difficult days for democracy. European nations struggle to elect governments on low turnouts. Populists wielding half-truths go from strength to strength. Facts are a devalued currency, personalities never more important. People use ballot boxes to bloody the noses of the political elite. Young people...
Citizens’ Jury
VicHealth – Victoria’s Citizens’ Jury on Obesity (2015)
Obesity policy and how to respond is a challenging area for governments around the world. The current situation leads to billions of dollars in care costs borne by the state and its citizens, but efforts to change this rarely survive the test of the daily headlines. Food is at once something we all understand, and...Continue reading
Noosa Community Jury (2014)
In 2013 Noosa Shire Council de-amalgamated from Sunshine Coast, with the elected representatives ascribing their electoral success (and that of de-amalgamation) to their position of putting more decision making in the hands of the local community. In 2014 newDemocracy was approached to provide advice on structures and processes which could deliver on that commitment. The...
Marrickville Infrastructure Jury (2014)
Like many councils across the country, Marrickville Council face the challenging problem of renewing a vast portfolio of aging capital assets – from roads, to parks, to pavements, stormwater drains and beyond. There are also new assets the council may wish to build such as cycleways and greening initiatives to be factored in – while...
City of Melbourne People’s Panel (2014)
Read the Panel’s recommendations here. Participatory budgeting processes traditionally focus on a component of discretionary budget – such as a representative’s ability to ringfence a couple of million dollars for community facilities. However, in many ways the larger challenge in budgeting is the dominance of interest groups coupled with the capacity to present any and...Continue reading
Premier of South Australia – Cycling in the City Citizens Jury (Recruitment only) (2014)
In South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill has continued to use the Citizens Jury methodology as a way of hearing a community view in policy areas where organised – and polarised – advocacy groups can drown out all other voices. Consistent with our position of not working to repeat past methodologies, in this case NDF was...
Moorebank Intermodal Citizens’ Jury (2014)
Moorebank Intermodal Company (MIC) was established by the Australian Government to oversee the development of a freight terminal at Moorebank. The terminal will improve the distribution of freight arriving in Sydney through Port Botany and on the interstate rail network. The terminal will benefit the NSW and Australian economy but it will also have an...Continue reading
Darebin Participatory Budgeting Citizens’ Jury (2014)
The Darebin City Council established an infrastructure fund and made a commitment to consult with the community to determine what this fund would be used for. Council decided to use a Citizens’ Jury process to get advice on how this money ($2m in 2014 – 2016) should be spent. The Council determined to accept the...
Department of Premier and Cabinet – A Vibrant and Safe Nightlife for Adelaide (2013)
In April 2013, the Foundation was appointed by the Department of Premier and Cabinet to conduct a Citizens Jury to complement other measures and policy responses linked to alcohol related violence. In all spheres of government, it can occur that good decisions don’t get made for fear of the political cost through a vox pop...Continue reading
Citizens’ Jury on Energy Generation (2012)
In July 2012, as part of the Inquiry into the Economics of Energy Generation the NSW Parliament will commission a jury style process to make a structured contribution to the public inquiry process. The Foundation will operate two policy juries – one in regional NSW and one in Metropolitan Sydney – in order to identify...