Australian Citizens’ Parliament and the Future of Deliberative Democracy

Lyn Carson is Professor in the Business Programs Unit at the University of Sydney Business School and a co-initiator of the Australian Citizens’ Parliament.John Gastil is Professor and Head of Communication Arts and Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. Janette Hartz-Karp is Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University’s Sustainability Policy Institute. Ron Lubensky is a doctoral candidate at the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, University of Western Sydney.

• ContentsList of IllustrationsList of TablesAcknowledgmentsIntroductionLyn Carson, John Gastil, Janette Hartz-Karp, and Ron LubenskyPart I: Deliberative Design and Innovation1Origins of the First Citizens’ Parliament Lyn Carson and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis2Putting Citizens in Charge: Comparing the Australian Citizens’ Parliament and the Australia 2020 SummitJanette Hartz-Karp and Lyn Carson3Choose Me: The Challenges of National Random SelectionRon Lubensky and Lyn Carson4Grafting an Online Parliament onto a Face-to-Face ProcessBrian Sullivan and Janette Hartz-KarpPart II: Exploring Deliberation5Listening Carefully to the Citizens’ Parliament: A Narrative Account Ron Lubensky6Deliberative Design and Storytelling in the Australian Citizens’ ParliamentLaura W. Black and Ron Lubensky7What Counts as Deliberation? Comparing Participant and Observer RatingsJohn Gastil8Hearing All Sides? Soliciting and Managing Different Viewpoints in Deliberation Anna Wiederhold and John Gastil9Sit Down and Speak Up: Stability and Change in Group Participation Joseph A. Bonito, Renee A. Meyers, John Gastil, and Jennifer ErvinPart III: The Flow of Beliefs and Ideas10Changing Orientations Toward Australian DemocracySimon Niemeyer, Luisa Batalha, and John S. Dryzek11Staying Focused: Tracing the Flow of Ideas from the Online Parliament to CanberraJohn Gastil and John Wilkerson12Evidence of Peer Influence in the Citizens’ Parliament Luc Tucker and John GastilPart IV: Facilitation and Organizer Effects13The Unsung Heroes of a Deliberative Process: Reflections on the Role of Facilitators at the Citizens’ Parliament Max Hardy and Kath Fisher, with Janette Hartz-Karp14Are They Doing What They Are Supposed to Do? Assessing the Facilitating Process of the Australian Citizens’ ParliamentLi Li, Fletcher Ziwoya, Laura W. Black, and Janette Hartz-Karp15Supporting the Citizen Parliamentarians: Mobilizing Perspectives and Informing Discussion Ian Marsh and Lyn Carson16Investigation of (and Introspection on) Organizer BiasLyn CarsonPart V: Impacts and Reflections17Participant Accounts of Political TransformationKatie Knobloch and John Gastil18Becoming Australian: Forging a National IdentityJanette Hartz-Karp, Patrick Anderson, John Gastil, and Andrea Felicetti19Mediated Meta-deliberation: Making Sense of the Australian Citizens’ ParliamentEike Mark Rinke, Katie Knobloch, John Gastil, and Lyn Carson20How Not to Introduce Deliberative Democracy: The 2010 Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change ProposalLyn CarsonConclusion: Theoretical and Practical Implications of the Citizens’ Parliament ExperienceJanette Hartz-Karp, Lyn Carson, John Gastil, and Ron LubenskyIndex

“As innovators in democratic process, we know how much we depend on learning from practical trials and real-world experiences. This work captures the experience in detail and provides an important reference point for anyone hoping to bring deliberation and the citizen’s voice back into how we do government.”—Iain Walker, executive director, The newDemocracy Foundation