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What is our aim?
To provide Australia with the best democratic system of government in the world.
How will we begin to achieve this aim?
To get a jury of ordinary people to act as government watchdogs.
How much will it cost?
The average cost per Australian would be less than 50 cents a year.
What will the jury do?
They will educate themselves by:
- Touring the country, finding out what's happening in factories, offices, farms, schools,
hospitals etc.
- Talking to people representing groups within the community: Unions, business groups,
social workers.
- Talking to representatives of the various government departments.
They will educate the rest of the country by:
- Reporting their findings to the community as a whole via a ten-minute weekly television
program.
- Each person in the group has about two minutes to express their views.
- If they find their views are shared by other people in the group, they can
"lump" their time allocation together to give a more detailed insight.
- They can read their opinion themselves, or have it read by a professional news-reader.
How will the jury be selected?
- The jury will comprise of six people selected randomly from the population.
- Every week, two people will finish their 3-week term, and two more people will be
appointed.
- Each jury member will be paid at the same rate as a federal MP, including free meals,
travel & accommodation.
What's wrong with the current system?
We believe that the current system of government:
- Makes it very difficult for politicians to get anything done.
- Discourages politicians from addressing difficult issues.
- Ensures that politicians spend most of their time representing the interests of the
people who keep them in power, rather than the community as a whole.
What will the benefits be?
- Ordinary people will feel like they're a part of the political system.
- The focus of government attention will change from what the media thinks is interesting
to what people know is important.
- People watching at home gain a sense of where other people in the community are coming
from.
- Issues can be discussed frankly rather than in a "politically correct style"
that often obscures more than it reveals.
- People from all sectors of society will be represented in proportion to their
population. On average, for example, 50% of the jury will be women.
Further information
Click here to view feedback so far
Click here to read the diary of ficticious jury member
Related sites
David Moss' Australian Politics
This document is Copyright © 1996, Philipp Bachmann
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