IN MAY Shoalhaven City hosted an open government summit, as the only local government body in Australia to do anything to mark National Open Government Week.
“I was mightily impressed,” said Graeme Gibson, who is organising a public forum on local democracy to encourage more people to become involved in the democratic processes.
Mr Gibson became involved in the local political scene in 2007 when he saw the impact council decisions were having on his home town of Huskisson, and said he realised, “Representation is weak in Australia but there are simple ways of strengthening it.”
A key is getting people interested and involved in issues and political processes.
“Voting every three or four years is stable and reliable but people need more regular opportunities to have a meaningful say on important issues,” Mr Gibson said.
“People like to be taken seriously and to know that they, or other citizens, have the opportunity to be involved.
“The best place to start strengthening democracy is the local level, the level closest to the people,” Mr Gibson added.
“Enormous benefits are possible when people and their elected representatives find opportunities to work together to jointly solve problems.”
In local government, simply realising “councillors can benefit from the wisdom of people” was a major step forward to involving more people in decisions, Mr Gibson said.
Getting people involved in decisions that affect their lives is one of the aims of the Grassroots forum on growing local democracy, which will be held at the Nowra School of Arts on Wednesday, September 28.
The forum will start at 7pm, but food, drinks and music will be on offer from 6pm. Mr Gibson stressed the forum was “about democracy, not politics”.
“A panel of speakers will present their ideas about people engaging in decision making, community engagement and less adversarial approaches, particularly at the local level,” he said.
“People will then have an opportunity to discuss these ideas and make some decisions about how this could be put into practice at the local level.”
Guest speakers Iain Walker, executive director of The New Democracy Foundation, Max Hardy, who was co-lead facilitator for Australia’s first citizens parliament, and John Mant, who played a major role in drafting the NSW Local Government Act, will address the forum chaired by head of Wollongong University’s Shoalhaven campus, Robbie Collins.
People will be given opportunities to discuss in small groups what they have heard and what changes they would like to see in their local areas.
“The forum will be engaging, stimulating and memorable – a night to celebrate good ideas,” Mr Gibson said.
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