On the eve of the 2022 Budget, the Greens have announced that they will establish a $2 million Public Interest Democracy Fund to explore new initiatives that would allow more public participation in decision-making and the allocation of public money.
To launch their policy, the Greens will host a demonstration of participatory budgeting at the White Eagle Polish Club, Campbell, today, hosted by Tim Hollo, Greens candidate for Canberra, and by Greens Senator Larissa Waters.
Participants will be invited to take part in a session on active travel which will show how a grants program could be run democratically, the community making its own decisions about how government money should be spent, instead of the process being open to pork-barrelling and dodgy decision-making.
The Greens say the Fund, which will be administered by the Department of Parliamentary Services, will support trials of innovative programs to increase democratic participation, including:
• participatory budgeting to give the community more say in the allocation of public money;
• citizens’ juries to complement Parliamentary processes on issues of public significance;
• reforming Question Time to allow questions from the public and get actual answers from Ministers;
• allowing petitions with more than 5,000 signatures to trigger parliamentary debate on issues.
The Greens say the initiative forms part of a broader policy for an end-to-end plan to revitalise democracy and clean up politics.
“In the last 15 years, confidence in our democratic systems has absolutely crashed,” Mr Hollo said. “Who can blame anyone for cynicism when incompetence, corruption, and abuse of power are so out of control?
“The best way to rebuild confidence in democracy is to actually get people involved in decision-making. It’s crucial that we don’t just get money out of politics, but that we also throw the doors wide open to public participation.
“Replacing pork-barrelled grants schemes with participatory budgeting is such an obvious step, and I’m excited to show people how that would work.
“People working together to find good solutions will come to better decisions than politicians making self-interested calculations,” he said.
“Trust in our political leaders and our institutions has plummeted to an all-time low after years of pork-barrelling scandals and blatant misuse of public funds,” Senator Waters said.
“From Sports Rorts, ‘Pork and Ride’, and the Building Better Regions debacle, to wanton JobKeeper wastefulness and billions of dollars handed out to fossil fuel companies to keep destroying Country and polluting the atmosphere, Australians increasingly distrust governments to act in the public interest.
“The Greens believe that cleaning up politics needs to start from the ground up, which is why we’ll invest in exploring ways for the community to participate more directly in the decisions that affect us all.
“Democracy should be more than simply casting a vote and then spending the next three years being ignored or taken for granted by your so-called representatives. Genuine participation in the decisions that affect our lives and our future will make for better policy, better outcomes, and stronger, more cohesive communities.”
The participatory democracy demonstration will take place today at the Polish White Eagle Club, 38 David Street, Turner, Sunday 27 March 12.30-2pm.
The event is supported by Professor Simon Niemeyer from the University of Canberra’s Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. Pedal Power, Living Streets, and the ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) will also take part.
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