Restoring faith in democracy: Time for citizen assemblies
Many Australians feel decisions are being made about us, not with us, writes Peter Martin. A solution is Citizen Assemblies.
The word democracy comes from the ancient Greek demos (people) and kratia (power), but for many Australians today, democracy feels less like power to the people and more like power out of reach.
We vote every few years, but what happens in between feels increasingly detached from the public will. Elections still happen, and governments can change, but many Australians feel disconnected from the decisions being made in their name.
The recent federal election highlighted the problem.
Once again, major parties sidelined urgent issues – like AUKUS, housing affordability, intergenerational inequality and the biodiversity crisis. Instead of robust public debate, we got soundbites and spin. Real discussions were replaced with rehearsed talking points and staged managed photo ops.
Why? Because having hard conversations in today’s political environment is fraught with risk. Lay down a path for reform and leaders are at the mercy of scaremongering media headlines and well-funded campaigns by those with the most to lose. Meanwhile, political opponents have electoral incentives for short-term point-scoring at the expense of long-term public benefit.
It’s little wonder many Australians feel decisions are being made about us, not with us.
While Australians value the idea of democracy, confidence in how it’s working has eroded. The system appears responsive to noisy campaigns and vested interests and unresponsive to the will of everyday people.
As former South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has diagnosed it, “We’re seeing a breakdown in the ability of governments to solve the big problems that are confronting their citizens, and the reason they’re having trouble doing that is because the public debate has become so polarised.”
“People get in their corners and there’s a whole lot of wishful thinking, but not a lot of serious discussions of compromise and trying to actually get to the solution.”
But amid this disillusionment, a quiet democratic revolution is emerging – one that restores public trust and delivers thoughtful, considered policy. It’s called the Citizen Assembly.
Citizen Assemblies—also known as citizen juries or panels—bring together everyday people, selected at random, to think deeply about and discuss complex policy questions. They are broadly representative of the population, cutting across age, gender, education and geography. They are given time, information, and expert guidance to weigh the facts, hear from diverse viewpoints, and reach considered conclusions for governments and parliaments.
This isn’t a theoretical exercise. It’s happening now, and it works.
Ireland used national Citizen Assemblies to tackle deeply contentious issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. These forums created the space for respectful, informed deliberation – eventually leading to referendums that passed with broad public support.
In South Australia, this approach has deep roots.
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In 2016, a Citizen Assembly considered a highly controversial proposal: whether to store the world’s nuclear waste as a new industry for the state. After extensive deliberation, the assembly rejected the plan. The government listened and shelved the idea.
In other jurisdictions, Citizen Assemblies have informed policy on topics ranging from childhood obesity and food labelling to city nightlife and cycle infrastructure.
The process itself is not new. Our jury system relies on the same principle: randomly selected citizens, informed and supported, making weighty decisions. What is new is the growing recognition that this model – known as deliberative democracy – can and should play a larger role in shaping public policy.
Internationally, it’s gaining traction.
The OECD has documented over 600 examples of deliberative processes being used to guide collective decisions. Participedia, a project from Harvard and others, lists over 160 cases where ordinary citizens have shaped public budgets. The city of Paris and the region of Ostbelgien in Belgium have even established permanent Citizen Assemblies to provide ongoing public input into policymaking.
Why does this matter now?
Because democracy is under pressure – not just abroad, but here at home. Polarisation, short-termism, and performative politics have left many voters disillusioned. Political parties, locked into their own ideological trenches, often struggle to reach consensus or respond flexibly to complex challenges. Citizen Assemblies offer a circuit-breaker.
Properly designed and managed, these forums can achieve what traditional politics increasingly cannot: evidence-based decision-making with broad legitimacy. They’re not a replacement for parliament, but a vital complement. They give voice to everyday people, rebuild civic trust, and allow us to confront tough issues with nuance, not slogans.
Critics will say ordinary citizens can’t be trusted with complex policy. But experience shows otherwise. When given time, support and respect, citizens rise to the challenge. Many participants leave these processes not only with deeper insight into the issue, but with a newfound respect for democracy – and for each other.
The truth is, our current political system needs help. Not because democracy has failed, but because it’s been reduced to a narrow ritual: vote, wait, repeat.
Citizen Assemblies remind us that democracy is more than elections. It’s dialogue. It’s collective judgment. It’s people coming together not just to shout across the aisle, but to listen, learn and decide, together.
Australia should embrace this model, not just occasionally but systematically. Let’s empower citizens to help shape policy on housing, climate, health, education and beyond. Let’s establish permanent citizen forums alongside our elected institutions.
How we can achieve this will be a key discussion topic at the first national conference on Citizen Assemblies at the Woodville Town Hall in Adelaide on June 14.
It’s time we gave democracy back to the people – not just on election day, but every day.
Peter Martin is the Co-Chair of Citizen Assemblies for South Australia (CAfSA) and organised Policy without Politics, a national public conference on Citizen Assemblies at Woodville Town Hall in Adelaide over the weekend.
