The housing crisis in Australia is a complex dilemma (what we sometimes call a 'wicked problem') that is becoming increasingly difficult to resolve. That makes it perfectly positioned for a deliberative process.

Calls are building for a national citizens’ assembly which would offer a path forward on an issue that is stuck in a political standoff.

Independent MP Allegra Spender is one of those campaigning for a deliberation. Spender told Sky News Australia recently that it is "a great opportunity to do politics differently” and that “housing affordability is one of the biggest issues that we face as a country.” (Watch the full interview here).

“Getting Australians in the room and talking about this is a great way to come up with different solutions and better solutions to inform the political debate.”

— Allegra Spender MP

While deliberation isn't always the right answer, housing affordability is perfectly primed for this kind of process because:

the situation is dire, and a strategy is urgently needed to alleviate the issue
there's no one right answer, competing needs, and people from all sides of the issue will be affected by the decision
politicians can't come up with a solution that everyone can live with and are being criticised heavily for any proposal they make
there are many perspectives to consider and difficult trade-offs to weigh up
political views are polarised and the government is stuck in limbo, unable to progress the Housing Australia Future Fund bill.

““One way or another, housing affordability is a problem for everyone.”

— Allegra Spender MP

The newDemocracy Foundation (nDF) recently published a proposal for a citizens' assembly on housing affordability at the request of members of the Australian Parliament.

The proposal calls for a national conversation on housing affordability, stating that the issue is "politically difficult”.

“Many voters simultaneously want their own homes to grow in value, while wanting homes for their children to fall to a more reasonable price. Many voters want to see housing supply increased, but somewhere other than where they live.”

— nDF Project Proposal: A Citizens’ Assembly On Housing Affordability

nDF Executive Director Iain Walker is featured in the article Let people fix what the House can't, written by Peter Hartcher in The Age on June 10. In the article, Mr Walker says: “I’ve heard politicians call for a ‘national conversation’ more times than I can count.

“Their next thought should be: ‘And a citizens’ assembly is the way to do it.’ Because it starts with regular people getting the best democratic opportunity; it shouldn't start with polarised positions.”

“Critically, a citizens’ assembly asks people to confront trade-offs, and it puts homeowners and renters in the same room and gives them the task of finding agreement. If this group can find agreement, then the fact that these recommendations come from ‘people like us’ can empower political leaders to act.”

— nDF Project Proposal: A Citizens’ Assembly On Housing Affordability.

BUILDING TOWARDS A HIGHER-LEVEL DISCUSSION

Every level of government, universities, not-for-profits, community organisations and others are having conversations about housing affordability.

Many organisations are working diligently to engage stakeholders and communities to find ways to tackle the problem. We are supporting some of those organisations to design and deliver engagement processes that address issues relating to or involving people affected by housing affordability, housing instability, public housing and homelessness.

We will continue to facilitate these discussions and are dedicated to helping organisations and communities at this level. These individual engagement processes are needed, and they have helped to create strategies, frameworks, plans, built internal capacity or capability and/or have led to positive action that makes a real difference.

However, what also needs to happen is a collective, higher-level, national conversation.

This issue is bigger than one level of government or organisation, and we're joining the call for a citizens’ assembly that will empower all sectors to move forward with more certainty and cohesion.

“Finding ways to bring people together to solve complex problems is absolutely necessary to find a way forward for the issue, but is also vital for our continued democracy. ”

— Nicole Hunter, MosaicLab

CAN WE REALLY SOLVE WICKED PROBLEMS THROUGH DELIBERATION?

We recently explored some of the hard conversations happening around the world. We’re seeing everything from a mini-public in Brazil and a deliberative polling in South Korea through to a citizens’ assembly in Budapest.

In Catching the Deliberative Wave, a 2020 report detailing 600 examples of deliberation across the globe, the OECD says: " Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions.”

Ireland is home to some of the world’s leading examples of deliberative democracy in action. Past citizens' assemblies have led to outcomes on some of the most difficult issues of our time including same-sex marriage and abortion.

The Irish government has now established a new Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use to consider the legislative, policy and operational changes Ireland could make to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and the wider Irish society.

“Citizens’ assemblies are a way to get hard jobs done. They have transformed the way that Irish people live their lives. They have successfully contributed to the delivery of marriage equality and abortion, plus many other areas such as political reform and climate change.”

— Art O'Leary, former Secretary of Ireland’s Convention on the Constitution

It seems that some of the most difficult, entrenched issues we face are being deliberated on around the world. These are processes that enhance the democratic process.

One of the arguments often mounted against deliberative democracy is that it is the government's role to make decisions, and that this should not be undermined or replaced by a group of citizens.

As Peter Hartcher writes in The Age on 10 June: “A citizens 'assembly doesn't displace a country's parliament. It doesn't have the power to make laws or allocate budgets. But it does seek to guide a legislature.”