Engaging Communities: A Critical Perspective on Public Participation in Australia

On the surface does Australia as a society in which citizen involvement is strong and where citizens are increasingly also at the local level has a number of channels to express their opinions and to influence political change. Men et nærmere blik på de forhold, som ligger bag disse politiske forandringer, fortæller en anden historie. But a closer look at the facts behind these political changes, tells a different story. Baseret på en række casestudier fra Tasmanien og delstaten Victoria viser artiklen, at borgerinddragelsen knytter borgerne, enten som individer eller som medlemmer af foreninger og organisationer, til stærkt formaliserede og regulerede bureaukratier. Based on a series of case studies from Tasmania and Victoria Land article shows that citizen involvement associated individuals, either as individuals or as members of associations and organizations to highly formalized and regulated bureaucracies. Derved bliver forholdet mellem borgere og myndigheder ofte karakteriseret ved markante uligheder i forhold til magt og ressourcer såvel som ved mangelfuld kommunikation. This makes the relationship between citizens and authorities often characterized by sharp inequalities in relation to power and resources as well as by inadequate communication. Det betyder, at det lokale samfund ikke bliver hørt tilstrækkeligt, og at bureaukratiet ofte dominerer. This means that local communities are not consulted enough and that the bureaucracy often dominates.