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
Media
Geoff Gallop. Australian Politics: A political class takes charge
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...
Why I Study Public Deliberation- John Gastil in the Journal of Public Deliberation
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
Citizens’ jury of Melburnians will guide $6 billion spend
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
How politicians can sell unpopular reforms
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
Kathy Jones. The politics of engagement
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
Time for citizens to decide how to stop election campaign rorting
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....
SMH | Opinion | Luca Belgiorno-Nettis
Forget democracy, we need a new way to govern Sydney Morning Herald, April 22, 2014 Ten years ago, in 2004, I decided to jump off the merry-go-round of political party fund-raisers. I found both the rubber chicken and the political offering equally unappetising. My Liberal and Labor party hosts, on the other hand, seemed perfectly...
Daily Telegraph News Local: Citizens’ Jury appointed by Sydney council comes up with 25 recommendations for a safer city
By JAMES GORMAN A GREATER variety of entertainment options for different age groups is one of the key recommendations made by a citizens’ jury looking into Sydney’s troubled night-life. In September last year, the City of Sydney formed the jury, made up of 43 randomly selected citizens from across the city. The jurors met five...Continue reading
Geoff Gallop. Manning Clark Lecture. 3 March 2014
On March 3 2014 Geoff Gallop delivered the Manning Clark Lecture in Canberra, making the case for a new way forward for the Australian Republican Movement through the use of deliberative democracy. The ‘third republic’ – as Geoff calls it – would be more likely to be achieved if those advocating change would be willing...