Page 3609 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 25 August 2009
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people, hear directly how government decisions impact on people and their families and hear what issues affect them most of all and what they are most particularly interested in now.
Seventy or 80 people or so took out most of their Saturday morning to come and speak with us this last Saturday. The place, the library at Harrison school, was abuzz with conversation. Anyone who wanted to speak to a minister or an agency representative was able to do so. There were, of course, a whole range of issues that were discussed there.
I had one particular meeting with a young mother new to Canberra, new to Australia, speaking limited English, and with her daughter who suffered profound hearing difficulties and, understandably, had very limited English. Like any mother, this woman’s main concern was that her daughter be able to receive the help and assistance she needed to make the most of our education system and her new life in Canberra. Whilst government has in place translation services, interpreter services and the like to assist people with English as a second language, to assess government services, it is, nonetheless, a daunting task to navigate through the correct government channels to access those services. This lady came to the cabinet in the community seeking help from the government, and we were able to put her in touch directly with the correct assistance services through DHCS. We will continue with this method of community consultation, as it generates significant positive outcomes for all concerned.
Community engagement and consultation takes many forms and serves many purposes. Sometimes we seek to involve the community directly in decisions that will affect their lives. Sometimes we just need to let the public know that something is happening, that a road will be closed or that a community celebration is planned.
The nature of the conversation will depend on many things, which include the extent of prior engagement and consultation, the complexity of the issues being debated, the size and diversity of the community affected, the depth of concern, the scope for realistic manoeuvring in policy or service and the time and resources available for the conversation. The form of conversation that might be suited to a long-term climate change strategy might be ill suited to a policy response to a pandemic. An issue primarily affecting residents of a single suburb may not warrant city-wide consultation.
Many Canberrans do already play an extraordinarily active role in commenting on policies and proposals put forward by the government. There is always the danger that those who are the loudest and most visible exert a potential influence that is out of step. One wonders, for example, how many Canberrans are currently signed up members of Save Our Schools. In order to reach beyond the usual suspects, innovative and fresh ways to undertake these conversations need to be considered. More Canberrans have access to the internet than any other Australians in any other city. But we are also busy people and, if we are to be properly engaged, it has to be at a time and in a fashion that is convenient to us.
Moving beyond the traditional approaches to consultation, public meetings and written submissions may allow many Canberrans who have not previously connected
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