On Australian Citizens' Assemblies

“Is it at all possible to have a sensible conversation about political reform in Australia?... In order to discuss various matters, in 2012 the Irish Parliament convened a Citizens’ Convention which then led to a series of Citizens’ Assemblies on specific topics, several of which became forerunners to successful referenda... Surprisingly, Australia was, until recently, a leader in citizen juries, having undertaken more than any other country, except Germany. But the political firmament hasn’t changed. To be fair, politics is much the same the world over. Most people still equate robust debate with political one-upmanship. The unseemly debate that bogged down the referendum didn’t need to happen. A patently better approach would’ve been to convene a Citizens’ Assembly to deliberate on the question — to act as the focus of a national conversation, rather than the slanging match that is Canberra.”

Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, “Could the Voice Referendum Process Have Benefitted from an Irish-style Citizens’ Assembly?” - https://www.abc.net.au/religion/would-the-voice-referendum-benefit-from-a-citizens-assembly/103147650. Given my work on citizens assemblies in deliberative democracy over the years, I'd wholeheartedly agree.