Community engagement in Queensland

Queensland's approach

Queensland is a large state with a diverse population. It has the most decentralised population of Australia’s mainland states and the nation’s second largest Indigenous population. It has areas of great affl uence and areas of entrenched poverty and exclusion, particularly among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The growing social, economic and environmental diversity of Queensland means the government cannot rely on traditional solutions in the development of policies to address increasingly complex issues and in the provision of programs and services. The government is therefore seeking new and more integrated ways to work with communities.

The government’s commitment

The Queensland Government has seven key priorities which are each underpinned by a set of values that clearly articulate the vision for a democratic and prosperous society. One of the priorities, ‘Delivering responsive government’, represents the government’s commitment to improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the Queensland public service. This priority requires Queensland public servants to:

• engage communities in government decisions and processes
• ensure service provision is fi nancially sustainable
• strengthen government policy development and implementation to focus on future policy challenges
• support a responsive public service, focused on improving government service delivery.

The Queensland Government has set out a transformative blueprint for the future governance of the Queensland public service in Realising the vision: Governance for the Smart State which was tabled in the Queensland Parliament in October 2003 by the Premier. This new framework for conducting government business positions Queensland at the forefront of historic change, shifting the role of government from one of controller to enabler. A key element of this change is working in partnership with communities to ensure that government connects with citizens in the development and implementation of policies, programs and services. Transparency, accountability and responsiveness are central to this change.

In Realising the vision, the underpinning principle is the concept of seamless government — agencies working together as a single entity, generating integrated responses to community needs. One of the key priority areas is partnering communities. The active involvement by the community in policy development and decision making is driving signifi cant changes to existing practices within the public service.

The government has also introduced a range of specific initiatives to support the commitment for improved community engagement. They include:

• regional Parliament
• Internet broadcasting of Parliamentary proceedings
• ePetitions
• community Cabinets
• Ministerial regional community forums
• negotiation tables
• Smart Service Queensland
• online engagement through a community engagement website
• Community Renewal Program
• implementation of a Community Engagement Improvement Strategy for the public sector.

Key government initiatives

Queensland Government agencies are developing and implementing a range of initiatives that support effective connections with citizens and communities.

A mapping survey of government agencies in 2002 recorded more than 100 pieces of legislation that mandate some form of engagement; a broad range of engagement strategies, programs and activities; and a trend towards more community participation and partnerships.

All Queensland government agencies contributed to the State of Engagement reports for 2003 and 2004 which record key agency engagement activities and collaborative engagement initiatives across government.

Following is a list of key government initiatives that facilitate improved citizen access to government.

Regional Parliament

In September 2002, the Queensland Parliament assembled outside of Brisbane for the fi rst time in its 142-year history. The sitting of Queensland Parliament in Townsville provided the community with the opportunity to experience democracy in action and witness Parliamentary proceedings from a public gallery. Members of the public were invited to attend Question Time and briefi ngs on Parliamentary processes. There were also public displays on the workings of government and ways for citizens to get involved in government planning and decision making. More than 9000 people visited the Parliament during three days of sittings. In 2005 Central Queensland hosted a sitting of Parliament.

Internet broadcasting of Parliamentary proceedings

The Internet broadcast of Parliament commenced in April 2003 and provides a live audio transmission of the Parliamentary proceedings. The broadcast is available via the Queensland Parliament website (www.parliament.qld.gov.au/ broadcast). The Internet broadcast was evaluated during 2004 and endorsed by Government as an ongoing feature of Parliament. The broadcast is helping more people, especially those unable to attend Parliament, including in regional areas, to understand how Parliament works and to assess how their elected representatives are performing.

ePetitions

Petitioning is a method by which citizens can make requests direct to Parliament. A petition is a formal request signed by at least one person and placed before the Parliament with the aim of persuading the Parliament to take a particular action. Currently, Sessional Orders of the Legislative Assembly provide for two types of petitions – Paper Petitions and ePetitions. The online ePetitions system, launched in Queensland in August 2002, provides a mechanism to start, join, locate and follow an electronic petition (called ePetition) via the Queensland Parliament website. Citizens with access to information technology can also visit the website to monitor whether a Minister has responded to an ePetition and, if a response has been tabled in Parliament, the content of the response. Examples of ePetitions lodged include Legalising Ferret Ownership in Queensland, Child Care Legislation, Community Insurance Crisis, Controlling Land Clearing in Queensland, and Recognising Fortitude Valley as Queensland’s First Special Entertainment Precinct.

Community Cabinets

Community Cabinets have been held in regional centres across Queensland since 1998.

A number of times each year Ministers and agency chief executive offi cers travel to a community location. For the fi rst hour of a Community Cabinet, the Premier and his Ministers take questions from the fl oor and afterwards Ministers meet with community members. The last hour of the Cabinet meeting is dedicated to formal deputations. Agencies provide formal responses to deputations after the Cabinet meeting and a newsletter is distributed which outlines issues raised at the meeting and any subsequent government announcements of consequence to the community.

Ministerial regional community forums

Ministerial regional community forums provide regional communities with a mechanism to identify priority issues, needs and strategies and present them directly to State Government Ministers who ensure that they receive an offi cial response. In a reciprocal arrangement, Cabinet Ministers make use of the forums to ask members for a regional perspective on government policies, programs and services. Forum members are given background documentation on the particular government initiative before the forum so they can consult within the sectors they represent, and provide input and feedback to the Ministers. Four forums are conducted annually in each region and are attended by Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries who meet with ten regional forum members. The forums are hosted by a Regional Queensland Council member and chaired by the senior Minister present.

Forum members in each region have strong networks and links within the community and their roles are to:

• raise and progress issues of community concern
• participate in joint planning with Regional Managers’ Coordination Network members
• focus on delivery of local outcomes
• ensure broad stakeholder networks are engaged.

A revised forum model was launched in June 2004, expanding the number of forum regions from eight to ten to align with the ten Department of Communities regions. The first of round of the new forums was held in July 2004.

Negotiation tables

Negotiation tables provide a process of engagement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the Queensland Government. They provide the opportunity for partnership arrangements and agreements that support mutual planning and goal setting, shared responsibility and accountability, and shared ownership of agreed outcomes as outlined in Community Action Plans. Negotiation tables can be plenary or issue specific and operate both at the regional and community levels.

Smart Service Queensland

Smart Service Queensland is a whole-ofgovernment service delivery initiative that aims to provide Queenslanders with a ‘front door’ to government transactions, information and referrals through one government Internet site (www.qld.gov.au), one telephone number (13 13 04) and a range of ‘one-stop-shop’ delivery counters. Smart Service Queensland provides quicker, easier and better access for Queenslanders and improves the speed, availability and consistency of Queensland Government services.

Smart Service Queensland delivers a range of services including vehicle and vessel registration renewals; Seniors Card and Concessions; business names, licences and permits; grants and events information; the Energy Advisory Service; and camping and traverse permits. Smart Service Queensland is also the fi rst stop for generic information about the Queensland Government. More than 400 services have been identifi ed to be delivered through Smart Service Queensland over the next few years.

Community engagement website

The Get Involved website (www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au) was launched in December 2003 and is the government’s community engagement website. People visit the site to access information about how government works, how to contact government, how to participate in decision making and other processes. The site also delivers a wide range of community engagement resources such as guides and research, and hosts ConsultQld, the government’s online consultation tool. It also provides extensive links to other state, national and international eDemocracy websites.

Online community consultation

The government’s online community consultation mechanism, ConsultQld engages the community via the Internet on selected issues and policy matters, and raises awareness of consultation processes. Online consultation increases the community’s access to decision makers and provides opportunities for citizen input into policy debate. Reports are posted to the site when the consultation ends, outlining a summary of results and the next steps in the policy development.

Examples of online consultations include;

• Draft South-East Queensland regional plan
• Centenary of women's suffrage
• Seniors and crime
• Review of Queensland's tobacco laws
• Queensland’s aquatic emblem
• Your health — whose responsibility?

Community Renewal Program

Community Renewal is a leading whole-ofgovernment engagement program established in 1998 to improve the quality of life of Queensland communities experiencing signifi cant social and economic stress.

The program actively engages residents from 19 targeted communities in local planning to identify and prioritise local issues and to develop strategies that meet community needs. The program facilitates partnerships between residents, business, community groups and local government to undertake collaborative action towards shared renewal priorities.

In the fi rst phase of the program (1998–2004), Community Reference Groups were established in all renewal neighbourhoods as the main engagement mechanism for garnering resident participation. With the extension of the program to 2009, Community Renewal is enhancing its engagement with marginalised sections of the community by using a range of creative and culturally appropriate strategies.

Key outcomes of the program have included citizens feeling valued as active shapers of their future, improved government responsiveness to locally identifi ed issues and the funding of innovative solutions (including over 600 projects) that have resulted from new partnerships formed through renewal activity.

Community Engagement Improvement Strategy

The Government’s Community Engagement Improvement Strategy, implemented over 2003–04 improved community engagement across the public sector with a range of initiatives designed to highlight and develop good engagement practices, improve engagement coordination, build leadership capability for more effective engagement and build engagement skills and knowledge into recruitment and selection processes. Under the strategy, agencies reported on community engagement activities in their annual reports and highlighted ways in which improved community engagement has delivered better outcomes for communities aligned with the government’s five key priorities of the 2002 term of government.

The state of engagement in Queensland

Research into citizen knowledge and perceptions of government in Queensland provides a clear message for Queensland Government: Queenslanders want effective, accessible and responsive government. The research fi ndings also indicate that there is considerable room for increased awareness and knowledge among Queenslanders about the workings of government and Parliament, and the role of public officials.

In 2002, the Queensland Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR) conducted a series of random household surveys. The fi ndings of the survey indicated that less than one third of the estimated 2,706,106 adult population of Queensland (30.4 per cent) reported that they knew of someone in Queensland Government agencies that they felt comfortable with in regard to contacting them for information or advice.

Only 20 per cent knew of someone in Queensland Parliament that they could contact for advice or information, 37.8 per cent knew of a Member of Parliament that they could contact for advice or information, and 18.2 per cent knew of a Minister that they felt comfortable with for obtaining information or advice.

In 2002, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet commissioned qualitative research to inform its investment in a range of eEngagement initiatives. Seven focus group discussions were conducted in metropolitan and regional Queensland. Participants were asked to consider their relationship with government, particularly in relation to perceptions of government interactions.

Overall, the focus group participants found experiences with government frustrating, confusing and inefficient. The responses reinforced general community expectations for services that were in tune with community aspirations and needs, close to the people, easily accessible and delivered with courtesy and efficiency.

In 2005, research commissioned by Smart State Queensland addressed citizens use of eGovernment and how they would seek to access services from government. When asked whether they had accessed a government service in the past 12 months, 86 per cent of respondents answered positively. More people use the Internet to access government than mail. However, the most common channel to access government is in person (almost half of all contacts reported as part of the study), followed by the telephone.