Can citizens’ assemblies improve local government decision-making? – Editorial

Whanganui’s first-ever citizens' assembly has put forward two distinct recommendations on the future of the district’s outdoor swimming facilities.

Editorial

Local government often seems to be hamstrung by mandatory public consultation processes – so is there a better way?

In Whanganui, the district council has introduced a citizens’ assembly initiative, with the first one set up to make a recommendation on the future of outdoor swimming facilities.

The citizens’ assembly is based on a concept of participatory democracy originating in ancient Rome.

The council says assemblies have been successful around the world because they bring together a diverse range of voices and allow participants time to explore an issue in depth.

A prominent example is the 2016 Irish Citizens’ Assembly, whose recommendations led to the 2018 referendum on abortion. They have been used by other New Zealand councils for complex topics where there is strong public interest.

During Whanganui District Council’s long-term plan process last year, it consulted the community on options for an ageing outdoor suburban pool.

After that consultation, the council played for time on whether to upgrade or close the pool and commissioned a study on the future of the district’s outdoor swimming facilities.

Rather than council officers then identifying a preferred option for the council’s consideration, a citizens’ assembly was tasked with considering the study and developing recommendations on behalf of the community.

The goal was “to get the community deeply involved at the outset of a decision, rather than backloading engagement to the end of the process by surveying the community once recommendations have been developed, as councils usually do”.

From 367 expressions of interest in the assembly, 40 people were “randomly selected” according to Whanganui demographics and paid $500 each to get to grips with the issue and make a recommendation to the council.

The group met five times with an independent facilitator before presenting its feedback to the council last week.

In what seemed like a bob each way, and to some surprise, the citizens’ assembly presented two recommendations – one to upgrade the old outdoor pool and further develop the existing indoor swimming complex; the other to close/dispose of the outdoor pool and expand the other complex.

After some debate, a decision was deferred until the council’s next meeting so council staff could provide more information to elected members.

While some are applauding the assembly concept as a positive for democracy, others are concerned about the cost. There’s also the fact that we elect people to local government to represent us and make decisions on our behalf, rather than being represented by an anonymous group of people.

Ultimately, the decision is still the council’s to make, as it is after every community consultation process. The difference is that ordinarily people are not paid for their feedback, some of which involves considerable time and effort.

Elected members will now need to reflect on the council’s inaugural citizens’ assembly, its value in the decision-making process and whether changes are needed if the process is used in the future.

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