The Australian Citizens' Parliament: A World First

Abstract

The Australian Citizens' Parliament was held in February 2009, with one participant from each federal electorate. The main meeting was a culmination of a process involving a series of regional meetings and online development of proposals by citizen participants. Within a broad charge of 'How can Australia's political system be strengthened to serve us better?' participants could develop their own proposals and so craft the agenda. The process yielded a set of recommendations for the structure and operation of government, as well as masses of social scientific data.