By JONATHON HOWARD
A RADICAL and innovative experiment in democracy was launched by Noosa Council this week.
But before you start thinking online activism, marching in the streets, or rattling political cages, instead think back to the earliest democratic traditions with some new social sciences put together in a new approach to public decision-making.
Noosa Council has enlisted the services of newDemocracy Foundation to engage with the local community and develop a “people’s panel” of everyday Noosa residents.
The panel will make recommendations on how the council should prioritise future spending and even determine the best way forward on contentious issues.
The panel was likely to mirror other successful people’s panel programs, which usually comprise 24 residents, business owners and students.
The selected participants are randomly selected to represent a broad cross-section of the community.
During the next three months, the selected panel members will be given open access to information and financial data about council, along with briefings by experts, senior bureaucrats and councillors.
The idea was the brainchild of mayor Noel Playford, who made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday 10 September.
Mayor Playford approached newDemocracy Foundation executive director Iain Walker to develop the panel idea.
The organisation has already seen some success in Canada Bay Council as well as other clients.
Like citizens serving on a jury, the panel members will deliberate over what they have heard and will reach a verdict in the form of recommendations to councillors on priority projects, services, revenue and spending.
Speaking with Noosa Today, Mr Walker said each of the people’s panelists will be paid for their time and are essentially “average Joes”.
“Unlike other focus groups or community consultations, the people selected to take part in these panels represent a broad age range and are in many ways average citizens,” Mr Walker said.
While only in the early stages, the people’s panel was expected to commence in the coming days and recruitment for the panellists was now underway.
