LEADR - Association of Dispute Resolvers

In February, 150 representative Australians gathered together in Canberra for a massive exercise in “deliberative democracy” exploring ways to strengthen democracy.

A team of facilitators supported this diverse group to have conversations which enabled them to explore issues and then to reach agreement on what they perceived to be the most important proposals for improving the Australian political process.

The emphasis was on listening and inquiring and on shifting, in some cases, from firmly fixed positions to more openness about ways to achieve underlying interests.

Co-chair, Fred Chaney, said that “The Citizens’ Parliament was an extraordinary forum. Australians not normally involved in the political process were able to make their contribution to how our governments work.”

Organisers of the event were overwhelmed by the interest people had expressed in being part of this event. Through random selection, the 150 participants – one from each electorate – represented a broad range of views. The 18 year old youngest participant who has not yet voted was part of the same dialogue process as the 92 year old; they were joined by others who have decided as adults to make their home in Australia, one as recently as 15 months ago.

Homemakers, professionals, clerical workers and tradespersons all had the opportunity to contribute.
LEADR members, Fiona Hollier and Phillip Hart, who were Ombudsmen for the event, reported that many participants said how positive they found the experience.

Fiona commented on the enthusiasm of one who explained “Normally, I mix with people who are pretty much like me and who, by and large, share my views. Here, I found myself having to really listen and understand points of view that are very different to my own. It’s been such an eye opening experience.”

Phillip said that he vastly prefers deliberative processes to the bickering that often passes for discussion and noted the relationship between deliberative processes and ADR.

This deliberative process was a way of bringing differences into the room in a very constructive way. While it is a different process to mediation, it nonetheless has some similar features. The Citizen’s Parliament website explains it in this way: participants can feel confident to communicate with a commitment to mutual respect, social inclusion, empathy, idea exploration, learning and honest reflection. The mediator’s toolkit clearly has great relevance.

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