Will the government actually pay attention to findings of Citizens’ Juries?
Letting the people decide … but will government listen? The Mandarin, by David Donaldson 18.02.2016 If we now have the technology to allow citizens to vote directly on all issues, what job remains for public servants?
While new technology may provide new options to contribute, the really important thing is governmental willingness to actually listen, says Maria Katsonis, the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet’s director of equality.
The balance between citizen consultation and public service expertise in decision-making remains a hot debate, with South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill warning last year that while expertise in policy is important, overzealous bureaucrats and politicians can disenfranchise citizens.
The internet is assisting government to attain opinions from people more easily than ever before. SA, for example, has embraced the use of citizen juries in policy formation through its youSAy portal — though as yet on only some issues. Finland has experimented with digitally crowdsourcing input into the policymaking process……http://www.themandarin.com.au/60608-crowdsourcing-technology-useless-government-wont-listen/
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