The Problem with Parliament

A summary of some of my research into the problems parliament faces and possible solutions.

I have explored a number of other problems, such as changes that may be needed to the parliamentary library, below is a summary of the research relevant to the problem presented in the week 6 presentation.

From-
The New Democracy Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.newdemocracy.com.au/

"In civic life, democracy is a significant reference point for our sense of well-being. When our faith in the political system is undermined by the realities of the current system, we become exasperated and disillusioned- with our politicians and with ourselves. There is no doubt that most politicians are well intentioned but the way our system currently works means that their focus is too often on winning and retaining office: the electioneering imperative."

As has been made obvious by the problems we see facing a minority government, Australian citizens feel left out of the policy making process resulting in a sense of a lack of democratic legitimacy. Currently policy is increasingly difficult to implement. Apart from during elections, there is a lack of integration of citizens in the parliament system.


From -
Hartz-Karp, J., & Anderson, P., & Gasti, J., & Felicetti, A. (2010). The Australian Citizens' Parliament: forging shared identity through public deliberation. Journal of Public Affairs (10) 353-371

"Active citizen participation is increasingly being recognized as essential to effective public policymaking. A key challenge for public administrators is how to effectively engage constituents' diverse viewpoints in sound deliberation that will likely result in coherent, agreed judgments."

"How is it possible to harness disparate voices, enjoin them in egalitarian, analytic problem solving and facilitate coherent agreed outcomes."

This paper refers to a Citizens' Parliament of randomly selected Australians held in old parliament house in 2009. The participants began by posting proposals online which were then voted in order of importance and further discussed when they got together in the Citizens' Parliament in Canberra. By the end of the talks the participants felt a shared sense of identity of being Australian and that they were doing important work for all Australians.

"My country has called. I had to be here."

"importance of being part of something bigger." 

"The thing is we've all become a part of the history of this building now."

"The collective repositioning of participants that resulted from being asked to take responsibility for formulating effective reforms for the future of all Australians, and to do so through an egalitarian process with ethnically and attitudinally diverse others, proved to be critical in the emergence of identity at the Australian Citizens' Parliament."

The proposals that emerged from the talks however were not binding and were only presented to a representative of the government.

If a space could be created to cater for a permanent Citizens' Parliament that acted as a third house of parliament this would offer a solution. Of course the members of the Citizens' Parliament would not attend full time and much of the lead up work could be by members while they are at home. Such a space would need to be adaptable enough to represent all members of the Citizens' Parliament while they are not in Canberra, while some are in Canberra and while they all meet in Canberra.