The Chief Minister wants to hear from you about how the ACT Government can improve the way it consults, and engages the ACT community. Use the following questions to start or join a discussion.
The ACT is a well educated community, and with increased understanding of government policies and programmes comes higher expectations of government. The ACT Government wants to hear from Canberrans, to ensure all Canberrans have a voice and participate the Territory’s democratic processes. As part of the commitment we are looking at options for encouraging Canberrans to be involved in decision making. Citizens increasingly want to have a say in matters that affect them. Involvement of citizens is now routine for most governments. However citizen engagement is not without its challenges, such as issues of fairness, representation, equal access, and balancing special and diverse interests.
Governments must determine the level of citizen engagement, the scope of that involvement, and the methods used to consult and engage citizens. That is why we are asking you what engagement processes including online processes that you prefer to use .
It should be noted that citizen engagement in public policy is not a substitution for representative democracy. Nor is it a form of direct democracy. Citizen engagement aims to give citizens a voice and choices on matters that most affect them.
So here is one way we can invite your participation as citizens. How is the ACT Government doing in this regard and how can we improve? We look forward to your contributions here, and we will carefully consider them along with other information gathered during this ‘Improving Community Engagement’ process.