Page 3185 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 23 August 2017
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We will be looking to further opportunities to improve consultation methods in the context of setting future budgets and, with this in mind, I commend my amendment to Ms Le Couteur’s motion and indicate that, should the amendment be supported, the government will support Ms Le Couteur’s motion.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (10.21): The Canberra Liberals welcome the opportunity to discuss in this place the need for better engagement with our community. In this technological age I believe there are better ways to engage with our community rather than simply using the only contentious notion that we really have at the moment, which is an electoral mandate, as the sole determinant for communities having a say about the direction of their city. Whilst the electoral mandate is very significant, it can be twisted in ways that are not necessarily reflective of the community.
There are many ways, I believe, of better engaging and communicating with citizens. As tools such as smart phones and internet access become more prevalent, the opportunities that these present, I think, are very exciting ways of better gauging community views and sentiments. One of the principles of participatory democracy is to ensure that not only the loudest or most dominant voices are heard but indeed all voices are heard, and we need to make sure that all people are heard and that we engage in ways that are genuinely relevant for all people in the community.
As Mr Barr touched on, at present it seems that we do have a system which lends itself to people being engaged if they have got time and they have got the confidence to do so. We need to find better ways of engaging with people who are either time poor or do not have the confidence to stand up, as some in our community are able to. Whether the principles of participatory democracy are followed or not, it is important that we remember that not every issue is going to be resolved through consensus. However, by respectfully reaching out and listening to people, everyone would be more informed and better placed to make decisions.
Here in the ACT a group of likeminded citizens are advocating for reform of how decisions are made in Canberra, and I commend those involved with the Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy for their advocacy in this space and for leading the argument for better participation.
Many people say to me, and I am sure to all members of this place, that they want to see more principles in politics. But often it is the same people who say they want to see us all work together as well. Whilst you can have both, disagreements are not a bad thing. If we are going to have principles, that means that we do not just follow a poll, we do not just go with what 55 per cent or 60 or 80 per cent of people think. It means actually standing up for what you believe in, which is of one of the conflicts of representative democracy. You have a personal view but then you are also representing a community and you are also representing a political party. This is one of the balancing acts that we in this place have to contend with.
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