The Wellspring

The Australia 2020 Summit, to be convened at Parliament House on 19 - 20 April 2008, will bring together 1000 of Australia’s “best and brightest brains” to tackle the long-term challenges confronting Australia’s future. There are 10 areas of discussion, and I’ve been invited to participate in the Future of Australian Governance stream.

This group, which includes former politicians and public servants, academics in politics and law, and a number of prominent commentators, will consider issues around the role of the media, community engagement in public policy development, the evolving nature of federalism and the rights and responsibilities of Australian citizens. Specifically, we’ve been asked to consider:

• How can we increase the participation of citizens in policy debate and decision-making?
• How could public trust and confidence in politicians be improved?
• Is parliament sufficiently accountable to the public? If not, what reforms are needed?
• What is the appropriate role of the judiciary in the Australian democracy? Is the current procedure for judicial appointments appropriate?
• What does the public have a right to know and what sort of information does the government have a right to keep secret?
• What accountabilities should bind both government and the media?
• What does it mean to be an Australian citizen, particularly in a multicultural context?
• What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our democracy? How should our rights be protected?
• How should individuals and the state share responsibility for community problems like climate change, lifestyle-related diseases etc?
• How could modern communications technology be used to improve access to information, citizen engagement and community awareness?
• What can be done to increase the quality and number of people wanting to enter the public service? What about politics?
• How can the current system of federal and state responsibilities be improved to achieve (a) better delivery of services and industry; (b) better outcomes for the economy; (c) more cost effective use of public funds?
• Is there a need for constitutional reform?

The group is considering nearly 700 submissions from the public, but if you didn’t make a submission and have any ideas for the Summit I’d be very eager to hear them - please contact me. I’m especially interested in issues around building social capital and the capacity of communities to engage in decision-making, and innovative social and political applications of new technology.

Expect more posts in the coming few days about my planned participation, as well as during the Summit discussing my experience.