Episode 30: The People's Constitution by Bronwyn Kelly (Chapter 7 - Parts 7, 8 & 9)

In Episode 30 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 7 Parts 7, 8 and 9 of her book, The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy.In Part 7 she states that the purpose of enshrining an Australian people’s national voice in the constitution is to enable Australians to develop terms of trust with the parliaments they elect. She suggests there is likely to be no other way to encourage a parliament to grant an appropriate share of power to the people in their own Constitution.Bronwyn also sets out how these terms of trust can enable a new arrangement of shared power, with the power to specify the national or sovereign will being accorded to the people and the power to make laws in accordance with that will being retained by the elected parliaments. She sets out how this system of separating two types of power can help governments to make more balanced policy decisions and parliaments to take the interests of future generations into account.Bronwyn then describes the form these new terms of trust might take and concludes that this will result in an arrangement of shared power which does not undermine the system of representative government. Instead it should enhance the capacity for responsible behaviour in that system.To facilitate this new arrangement of participation in democracy Bronwyn suggests that an independent centre of excellence in community engagement, social research and integrated planning should be created to support Australians in their right to build their own national people’s voice. She finishes by suggesting that the benefits of this wider spread of power include the coexistence of diverse voices, an improved chance of responsibly exercising rights to self-determination in political equality, and the chance to speed up transition to a sustainable future without increasing political or economic inequality.In Part 8 Bronwyn offers a starting draft of an enshrined constitutional process for expression of the national people’s voice. The draft is intended for use in community engagement.In the final part of Chapter 7, Part 9, Bronwyn talks about how other amendments to the Constitution will be necessary if we are to reduce the possibility of abuse of power by governments. 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