Democratic deficit in the ACT: is the citizen initiated referendum a solution?

dc.contributor.authorHill, L.
dc.date.issued2003
dc.description.abstractHopeful of bringing citizens closer to government decision-making Gary Humphries recently presented the Community Referendum Bill 2002 to the AGT Legislative Assembly. The Citizen Initiated Referendum has many staunch advocates however this paper considers whether CIR is an appropriate solution to perceived democratic deficits in the ACT or anywhere else in Australia. The paper canvasses a number of pitfalls of CIR. These include: their potential to aggravate rather than ameliorate the democratic deficit; the problems associated with under-deliberation; and potentially detrimental consequences for existing electoral arrangements. Specifically, CIR could engender voter fatigue, reduce the salience of elections and exacerbate levels of ungovernability and accountability, all of which are known to turn people off politics and voting.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityLisa Hill
dc.identifier.citationAustralian Journal of Social Issues, 2003; 38(4):495-511
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/j.1839-4655.2003.tb01157.x
dc.identifier.issn0157-6321
dc.identifier.issn1839-4655
dc.identifier.orcidHill, L. [0000-0002-9098-7800]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/15874
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAustralian Council Social Service Inc
dc.rights© 2003 EBSCO Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.
dc.source.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1839-4655.2003.tb01157.x
dc.titleDemocratic deficit in the ACT: is the citizen initiated referendum a solution?
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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