Over the past decade, State and local governments throughout Australia have focused on how to improve community consultation. Previous consultation processes have come under heavy criticism and have often backfired. The unintended result has been community frustration and anger. The improvements many government agencies have developed have often appeared to the community to be simply ‘more of the same’, with the community still feeling unheard and only marginally involved.
In Geraldton, we are pioneering a new model of engagement, called deliberative democracy or collaborative participation. It has less to do with ‘have your say’ and more to do with joint problem solving to develop actions on the things that are important to everyone in the community.
Deliberative democracy or collaborative participation aims at being:
a) Representative of the population and inclusive of different viewpoints
b) Deliberative – providing open dialogue, access to information, respect, and space to carefully consider options and develop common ground;
c) Influential – making sure that the community actually influences policy development and decision-making in the region.
Our plan, through the 2029 and Beyond project, is to develop –
The 2029 and Beyond project will provide opportunities for the community and Government to work together towards a sustainable future for our region.
Read the plan of activities for community collaboration for 2029 and Beyond
