The Nelson Mandela Youth Leadership Summit 2023 on 28 July at the Parliament House, allows a diverse youth population from Shepparton, Regional Australia, urban Australia and Asia-Pacific to create a group of connected future leaders of the region and Australia.  COO, Victor Perton, a founder from the Centre for Optimism. will be leading  a workshop on optimism and the positive outcomes related to governance. Young people are allowed to sit-in the chambers of the Victorian Parliament to  work on issues that they feel is important and learn to potentiate their voice in the very building where debate  and laws are promulgated.

The Treasurer is talking about EBP.  If the talk turns into action, then he is to be applauded.   Between 2018 and 2022, a small team under the leadership of Percy Allan AM ran a research project benchmarking 100 legislative initiatives from the Commonwealth and three states using the “Wiltshire Criteria” to determine EBP quality. Of these case studies, only 32% achieved a solid process ranking, and 25% achieved a below-par ranking – the balance rated mediocre.   Media, non-government politicians and the general public should all demand high-quality, evidence bases for all government initiatives from the Commonwealth and the states.https://evidencebasedpolicy.org.au/

As the environment shifts, are you remaining fit for your intended strategy? The Fitness for Business Transformation Index 2023 is now open to deepen insights for Bright Sparks of your organisation, Bold Executives, and Discerning Board leaders  Be a proactive leader, with deeper understanding of the opportunities and risks. Expand your perspectives  Link to participate in the research and receive actionable insights is in comments below. (Survey typically takes 3-5 minutes.)

When will our politicians accept that they are not trusted enough to sponsor a constitutional change successfully? Is it ego? Is it fear of losing the power to dictate?   A process that helps the whole community understand the need for change and how any proposal can improve things is required. Several ways of achieving this have been proposed in recent years.   It is heartbreaking to see the issue of indigenous recognition flounder for the lack of adequate community consultation. A pause in the process for broad consultation and some redrafting is warranted.   https://www.ideaspies.com/posts/a-way-of-breaking-the-referendum-deadlock    

Democratic Governance should be about seeking policy balance that benefits the whole community. It is where loyalty to all citizens overrides loyalty to factional interests.Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, has published a new book, “The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism”. I recommend that any citizen interested in reversing the decline of our liberal democracies and creating a better society read this book.   All citizens should better engage with our country's governance and, along with our journalists and commentators, demand that our politicians support individual policies with clear evidence of wide community dialogue and majority support.

The Robodebt Royal Commission has given some interesting examples of how government ministers and senior public servants can sidestep scrutiny of their actions and how to fix the situation.The well-known journalist, and professor of politics and public policy, Peter Van Onselen, has called for a Royal Commission into how the Covid challenge was handled. During the pandemic, there were many questionable decisions made by our political leaders, especially over the curtailing of personal liberty and the doubtful benefit of a large amount of accumulated debt.   Our liberal democracy is not working well. A Royal Commission could help fix it.