The Weekly Review Melbourne Times. By Sian Watkins| 10:08:AM 02/09/2014 A group of Darebin residents given $2 million by Darebin Council have recommended that it be spent on establishing a community house in East Preston and improving the hilltop area of All Nations Park. The “citizens’ jury” also recommended that the council install exercise equipment...
RESIDENTS HAVE SAY ON COUNCIL SPENDING On Preston Leader, Melbourne by Julia Irwin ADDRESSING disadvantage was a priority for Dare- bin’s first citizens’ jury when it delivered its verdict on how to spend $2 million from the city’s budget. Darebin is believed to be the first council in Victoria to introduce participatory budgeting, which gives resi-...Continue reading
Nicholas Reece, THE AGE, 1 September 2014. A radical experiment in democracy has begun at Melbourne Town Hall. But it does not involve online activism, marching in the streets, or the Occupy Movement. Instead it draws on the earliest democratic traditions together with some new thinking from social scientists to trial a new approach to...
By Beverly Parungao As a slew of ICAC inquiries tear through NSW politics, a group of experts pitch their ideas to fix government. Do these plans have merit, and are there other proposals that should be pushed? Beverly Parungao writes. The St James Ethics Centre held a major debate on July 1st on ways to...Continue reading
From the Newsletter of the Southern Highlands Branch of the Labor Party, May 2014 Times like these make it hard for anyone to maintain their faith in the liberating power of politics. Current events remind us that politics creates space for idealists who seek the greatest good for the greatest number as well as...
The author argues that scholars can best advance public dialogue and deliberation by conducting systematic research on practical innovations that have the potential to improve political discourse. The author explains and justifies this position through a personal narrative that recounts formative experiences with debate, group dialogue, political campaigns, academic research, and electoral reform. Full Article...Continue reading
Aisha Dow, City Reporter for The Age You might describe it as Melbourne City Council’s version of jury duty, except it is far easier to get out of. A panel of 43 “everyday” Melburnians will advise council on how it should spend its money for the next 10 years, when the randomly selected group is...Continue reading
Kathy Jones, speaking as a board member of newDemocracy, discussed this challenge in a speech to the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). Overcoming this distrust of politicians and planning requires finding innovative ways to communicate not only with those residents who are already “engaged and enraged”, but also with community members who are hard-to-reach....Continue reading
From one of our founding board members. Ian Marsh. Australian Financial Review, 28 May 2014. Tony Abbott’s fall from grace has been precipitous. But it is not unprecedented. Its causes are much more fundamental than poor political judgment. How so? Take the precedents. The Resource Super Profits Tax was released in May 2010, and was followed...Continue reading
Jonathan O’Dea | Sydney Morning Herald | 30 April 2014 Following more explosive revelations from the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Monday, Premier Mike Baird has identified political lobbying and election campaign funding as major issues for our state government. He has indicated support for tighter regulation of lobbyists and public funding of election campaigns....