Engagements update, May 2026
An update of the Dem36 team's recent engagement activity
DEM36 UPDATECOMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTEVENTS
Reclaiming Democracy attendance report
Conversation at the Crossroads is a Melbourne-based group which has operated for the past five years. It has run many in-person and online events, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds to consider, discuss and engage with some of the social, environmental and political challenges of our time (see: Conversation at the Crossroads).
Late last year the group decided to mount a seven year national project titled: Reclaiming Democracy. The project was launched at the Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday May 9, 2026 (the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Commonwealth Parliament) and ran from 1.30pm – 4.30pm. I was one of the 1200 people who attended.
It was a packed program which mainly comprised speakers: Professor John Keane, Professor Gillian Triggs, Professor Mark Rose, Dr Natalie Kyriacou, and Emeritus Professor Joe Camilleri each spoke and then all participated in a panel session; and Professor Wendy Brown gave an online presentation. There was also a half hour musical interlude presented by the Tarab ensemble accompanied by the Victorian Trade Union Choir.
Although it was a didactic format, the speakers were entertaining and thought provoking. It was clear from the audience reaction that there is an appetite for democratic reform, and many of the ideas presented resonated with our ‘Towards a Charter’ document.
On Monday morning, May 11, I met with Joe Camilleri, the Chair of Conversation at the Crossroads, to introduce Dem36, to find out more about the next steps for his project, and to explore possible connections. Joe was very interested in what we are doing and wants to pursue collaboration where that is mutually beneficial.
At the moment, his group is planning a three phase approach involving community consultations about urgent national and/or international challenges. It is clear that they want to take a deliberative democracy approach, and he also spent some time describing a possible direct democracy approach, to these community consultations.
The overarching goal of the Reclaiming Democracy project is to embed deliberative democracy into Australian civic life, and to establish a permanent civic engagement platform linked, where possible, to policy making. Joe was very interested in our advocacy for a new State Constitution, not least because he could see the potential to embed deliberative approaches into a new Constitution.
I have undertaken to keep in touch with the Reclaiming Democracy project and we will both look out for collaborative possibilities.
-Alan
Local Government Governance Network presentation
On 10 April, Dem36 members had the privilege of speaking to the Local Government Governance Network on the role of local government within the South Australian constitution. Professor Alan Reid discussed the process of constitutional reform in South Australia, and the opportunity we have to bring South Australians along on a journey to refresh our state's constitution - to make it reflective of the kind of democracy we aspire to. Josh McDonnell then talked about how constitutions can affect the way in which we understand the role of local government, and how the system itself evolves - that is, how reforms over time affect local government's power/autonomy, its ability to have a meaningful impact on communities, and its democratic legitimacy. We then discussed the exciting potential for constitutional reform, with reference to the many very different models of local democracy internationally - including in Switzerland, where citizen assemblies and referenda are commonplace.
We look forward to more discussions like this over the year ahead as we build an understanding of the possibilities (realistic and idealistic!) for democratic renewal. We thank the Governance Network for the opportunity to present, and the feedback received. Thank you also to Dem36 member, Ania Karzek for arranging the opportunity.
-Josh