(Based in part on the Australian Citizens' Parliament held in 2009)
How the Citizens Parliament Works
- 150 citizens are chosen (same size as the House of Representatives), one from each electorate, representative of the population based on census data. They will form the Citizens' Parliament for the next year.
- Initially regional meetings are held to brief the Citizen Parliamentarians and let them get to know each other.
- Citizen Parliamentarians then work from home in their spare time, generating and debating policy proposals on an online forum. Enough Citizen Parliamentarians need to join in each proposal to keep it going, proposals are rated on importance.
- Regional meetings are held monthly to brief Citizen Parliamentarians on current issues and keep interest.
- At the end of the year (in Spring? when the weather is not too bad) the Citizens' Parliament meets in Parliament House. The top 12(?) policy proposals are debated and refined over a week and then presented to the government where they are voted on in the House and the Senate.
Issues to Consider
Where will regional meetings be held?
Each regional meeting will have the same amount on Citizen Parliamentarians. Could be 10 or 15. They would need to be held in places central to these 10 or 15 electorates.
Some electorates cover huge areas and there is a big distance between them, how will this work?
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| Map Showing Electorates http://carefullyscriptedremarks.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/aec-map.jpg |
- Parliamentarians could be flown to a central place. - expense, pollution, time
- Numbers in meetings could vary. - still a long way to travel for many people
- Physical meetings may be difficult
- Virtual meetings could be held, with current technology is possible. - are people less likely to keep interest? what if they don't have access to technology?
- A kit could be sent to each parliamentarian that gives them the equipment, or a space with the equipment, to participate, regardless of their situation.
Where will the Citizen Parliamentarians live while in Canberra?
- Previous Citizens Parliament used student accommodation - makes use of existing infrastructure, but needs to be when students are not living there.
- Something purpose built would only be used once a year. - unless it had another function at other times.
- The kit sent out to Parliamentarians could be a living space. - travels to Canberra with them, already been used by them for a year, plugs into Parliament House where they live during the Citizens' Parliament. - is there space for 150 living units?
- Living spaces that are used for something else the rest of the year could be built over Parliament House. - used for what? tourists?
Why not only hold the Citizens' Parliament online? Why go to Canberra at all? Why only once a year?
- Travelling to Canberra and being in Parliament House gives a greater sense of legitimacy, being with the rest of parliament.
- Working in Parliament House would give a greater insight into the workings of parliament for those involved.
- If more than once a year it coud impact on the Citizen Parliamentarians' other jobs and commitments.
- Changing Citizen Parliamentarians each year gives more people a chance to be involved.
Why is a Citizens' Parliament needed at all?
- People would have more respect for policy decisions if they were involved and knew how it worked.
- People would have more respect for government as there would be a greater feeling of democracy if citizens were actually involved in policy making.
- It would allow for policy to be made without political parties being involved, policy that is good for Australia, not just good for getting a political party into power.
- Policy for the long term would be generated as the parliamentarians know they are only there for one year and don't need to think about elections.
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