The ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Government undertook a consultation process to engage Canberrans in decisions about future housing. The process included wider community consultation as well as a 'Collaboration Hub' deliberative process.
Problems and Purpose
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is the region in Australia including Canberra and surrounding area. Canberra’s population and the number of older residents is set to increase in coming years, meaning that the government needs to consider appropriate housing strategies to meet this need, alongside the challenge of having limited land available [1].
The changing demographics of Canberra require reconsideration of the capital’s housing planning and development. The existing housing and planning system was found wanting and not conducive to meeting these challenges because ‘currently, planning rules potentially don’t let people create the dwellings and neighborhoods they want to create’ [2].
The government undertook a multi-stage engagement process in order to engage the ACT community and generate recommendations on housing choices. A central element of this process was a ‘Collaboration Hub’, a deliberative process bringing together a random sample of citizens to deliberate upon and develop a set of recommendations [3].
Background History and Context
In recent years the ACT government has undertaken a number of community engagements, some of which have deliberative or participatory elements, operated through their YourSay portal.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The entire engagement process was convened by the ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, part of the ACT government. newDemocracy Foundation, an independent non-profit, were enlisted to design and oversee the Collaboration Hub, the deliberative element.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
According to the ACT Housing Choices webpage, 38 Participants took part in the Collaboration Hub stage of the process, but the number is noted as 31 in the Hub’s final report. 15,000 invitations were sent by post to potential participants, and from the positive responses a representative sample was drawn matching the demographics of Canberra by age, gender, location and household type (e.g. property owner, tenant).
The overall engagement process involved multiple stages outside of this where more people participated. This included an online portal and community presentations and workshops where participation was open to all.
Methods and Tools Used
Q&A with experts and officials
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The first stage of the community engagement involved the release of a government discussion paper which laid out the issues facing the region relating to housing. Feedback on this paper was gathered through a number of methods, including written submissions, online surveys, interactions on the YourSay portal, workshops for stakeholders, industry and community groups, social media, postcards handed to residents, and kiosks set up at community centres for people to talk to planners face to face and share their views [4].
The outcomes of this community engagement were then fed into the Collaboration Hub which followed. The members of the Collaboration Hub met five times on Saturdays from May – July 2018, for a total of 40 hours. Prior to meeting, they were provided with an information pack detailing the various issues and possible solutions.
On the first three days of the Hub, participants heard from a range of industry, stakeholder and expert representatives on the issues relating to future housing choices in Canberra, presentations of whom can be viewed here. They were able to request further information and hear from specific people during this time [5].
On the fifth day, participants presented their final report and 13 recommendations to the Minister for Planning, Mick Gentleman. Within this there were two minority reports alongside the 13 recommendations [6].
Prior to the process, the ACT government had agreed to respond to all recommendations within 45 days and give reasons for any recommendations that were rejected [7].
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The ACT government agreed in principle to adopt all of the Hub’s recommendations. In practice, this means that they agree to the ideas laid out in the recommendations and will undertake further research and develop for them to be implemented [8]. As of September 2019, members of the Hub and stakeholders have been invited to work further on implementing some of the recommendations. This is ongoing [9].
Analysis and Lessons Learned
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See Also
References
[1] newDemocracy Foundation (2018). ACT Government Housing Choices. Available at: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/2018/03/13/act-government-housing-choices/
[2] newDemocracy Foundation (2018). Process Design - ACT Government Housing Choices. Available at: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/2018/03/13/act-government-housing-choices/
[3] ACT Government (2019). Housing Choices. Available at: https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/housing-choices
[4] Ibid.
[5] ACT Government (2018). Housing Choices and Collaboration Hub - Government Response. Available at: https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.act-yoursay.files/5215/3740/2339/Housing-Choices-and-Collaboration-Hub-_Government_Response.pdf
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] ACT Government (2019). Housing Choices. Available at: https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/housing-choices