Episode 26: The People's Constitution by Bronwyn Kelly (Chapter 7 - Parts 1 & 2)

In Episode 26 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 7 Parts 1 and 2 of her book, The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy. In Part 1 she sets out how the mere process of voting does not give Australians a voice. In reality, the election system subverts and silences them - because they give away power to a tiny few without instructions as to its rightful use. Elections under Australia’s current constitutional arrangements support the short term interests of the already powerful, not the long term interests of the powerless. They also tend in the main to subordinate the national interest to sectional interests. Bronwyn sets out evidence of this in the 21st century and then suggests that it is therefore "at the very least advisable to develop new political systems and a process which can enable Australians to ensure they can express with a coherent voice their aspirations for their wellbeing and security in the future." A process reform is required to help Australians build their own long term integrated plan and this process must be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution as a human right if We the People are to be able to issue the coherent instructions our parliaments and governments will need if Australia is to track towards a future of wellbeing and security for all. In Part 2 Bronwyn sets out what she means by a “national people’s voice”. Models for this sort of process are already available and have been working well in local governance for more than a decade. They are being adapted for use at the national level by Australian Community Futures Planning. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bronwynkelly.substack.com