Re-engaging with citizens: taking an issue to the people on the street

Anyone who has been involved in political activity - out on the streets trying to talk to people or hand out information - will have experienced the withdrawal, the fear in the eyes of people who don't want you to bother them. It is a turning away that says, to me, "I have made a decision to turn my eyes away from what is happening in the world - don't make me look." Being irritated is fine; being uninterested, too. But why fearful?

What do they fear is going to happen to them if they are drawn into a discussion or into active involvement? Disagreements perhaps? Conflict? Could it be that citizens stay out of the public discourse simply because they don't like conflict? And is this a particularly Australian thing? Political debate makes Australians uncomfortable, which is certainly not the case in Europe where there is a healthy tradition of it. We seem unskilled in the discipline or argument, just as we are insufficiently exposed to the responsibilities of citizenship. The two are entwined.

The reality of social and political engagement is that one is quickly surrounded by people of like mind. If there is something you are fighting for then there will be an enemy, but most of the time you will have the support of your gang. This is particularly true in grassroots organisations. If you are working towards something you believe in, and you have the friendship and support of your comrades, it is a heady feeling. This is why I don't understand the reluctance of people to engage. The rewards, in terms of personal fulfilment, friendship and empowerment are substantial. The costs? Well, I know people often come a cropper when the internal politics of the group become bloodier than the external battle. Maybe that's why people won't engage: fear of conflict again.

For an ordinary citizen to have any impact on public policy on a national level usually requires them to be part of some kind of lobby or advocacy group. A lot of people may be reluctant to get involved for the reasons just mentioned. But I wonder also if there is some sort of culture of effacement at work. Perhaps many of us don't like to be seen to be putting ourselves forward; maybe we feel that there is someone else who is better qualified to take on that role. Or perhaps we simply expect someone else to do it.

Volunteerism has always been on the nose with the traditional Left because it is seen as getting people to do something (for nothing) that the government ought to be doing. And they've got a point. There is an enormous burden falling on voluntary and not-for-profit organisations that are literally holding together our social welfare tradition while the Howard government walks away from it. There are services that should be provided by government and which taxpayers have a right to expect government will continue to support.

But it is also true, I think, that an expectation that government will, should or even can "take care of things" is one of the causes of the disengagement of our citizenry. There is a sense, so widespread as to be almost universal in this country, that it is "someone else's job to fix it". For a country that came to democracy pretty early, we have been, as individuals, remarkably reluctant to take an active part in democratic life. Few of us belong to political parties or activist groups, or even residents' groups. This is what needs to be tackled.

How do people gain the skills that make them effective citizens? If they have never participated, why should they even think it is important? One can't have an effective community without effective citizens, but how can people be convinced of the importance of being engaged, and then persuaded to act on it?

First, give them time to do it. How can we have an effective democracy when most people have too little time to even effectively sustain their family relationships, let alone get involved in their community?

Second, show them that coming together with people of like mind and having their say can be fun! All those volunteers during the Sydney Olympics discovered something: getting involved was a buzz. If only all that energy could be harnessed for something more useful than marshalling queues!

Finally, tap into their passions at a local level. When an issue is brought close to home, people do see the necessity for getting involved, so act local. And watch that flow through to a broader engagement in public issues.