2015-08-18 Planning and Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                18 AUGUST 2015


A community jury is one of a range of community engagement tools Council has employed
to increase and encourage the community’s involvement in Council decision-making. A
community jury maximises the level of public participation in decision-making and has the
potential to empower citizens.

Noosa Council is the first in Queensland to use a Community Jury and one of only a handful
of councils Australia-wide to have chosen to involve its residents in a collaborative way. It
should be made clear that by legislation, it is the Council that makes the final decision about
the Jury’s recommendation.

Noosa’s first Community Jury deliberated upon on the question, “What is the best option for
minimising organic waste sent to landfill?” Using the Community Jury tool is in keeping with
Council’s key priority of involving the community in decision-making on key issues affecting
the future of Noosa (Noosa Council Corporate Plan 2014-2019).

The Community Jury was supported in the following ways:
   CE Branch worked with the Waste department and nDF to provide the Jury with
     information; and
   speakers and research including a comprehensive background document about the
     organic waste issue and potential options for future management.

Representatives from nDF attended each Jury meeting and co-facilitated with the external
facilitator engaged for the process, when required. nDF managed jury selection, all
submissions to the jury directly, and all communications with jurors throughout the jury
process ensuring that Council remained at arm’s length. nDF reviewed the external
facilitator’s planning for each meeting and was vigilant to ensure that the process would
unfold in a timely and effective manner.

During the period the Noosa Community Jury deliberated, the Community Engagement
Manager attended a Community Jury Symposium at Bond University and was able to form a
comparison between the Noosa Community Jury and other community juries operating
around Australia.

This report is an evaluation of Noosa’s first Community Jury from a process perspective and
centres on feedback from key stakeholders.

Feedback from Jurors

A survey of Juror’s experiences towards the end of deliberations (full study results not yet
available) conducted by a PHD research candidate from University of the Sunshine Coast
showed, amongst a host of other findings:
   An overwhelming majority of jurors felt that their participation in the Jury had increased
     their trust in Noosa Council as a collaborative and engaged Council;
   An overwhelming majority of jurors thought that they were provided with
     comprehensive information about the topic and Council processes to inform decision-
     making about the topic;
   An overwhelming majority of jurors thought that the Jury was a positive initiative for the
     community and Council to deliberate and make decisions together.




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