From Friday 6 to Monday 9 February Old Parliament House will be the venue for Australia’s first Citizens’ Parliament. The Citizens’ Parliament project is bringing together 150 randomly selected citizens, one from each federal electorate, to Old Parliament House to deliberate on the question “How can Australia’s political system be strengthened to serve us better?”

This exciting event is a “Deliberative Democracy” process which aims to provide citizens with information and space for deliberation on the question at hand, in order to culminate a report to be presented to the government. Such processes are becoming increasingly common in many countries, for more information visit the Citizens’ Parliament website.

The Citizens’ Parliament will be opened by Senator John Faulkner on Friday afternoon and the parliament will close on Monday afternoon. The public may be able to view the proceedings when the Parliament is in the House of Representatives Chamber from the doorway in King’s Hall.

The Citizens’ Parliament is funded by the newDemocracy Foundation and an Australian Research Council grant. It is being managed by a team from the newDemocracy Foundation, the Australian National University, Curtin University, Sydney University and the University of Tasmania.

For more information on newDemocracy visit www.newdemocracy.com.au.