PARLIAMENTARY FUNCTIONS

Investigating the functions of the parliament and the inner workings of the government system has been somewhat frustrating because I keep reaching the conclusion that it is far from a perfect system, and that there is a highly unequal distribution in power between the members of parliament and the people. Instead of thinking about how to solve this though, I will refine my brief by making a decision now that I will not propose any changes to the current system and the way things work. I will instead focus my attention on how to involve the Australian people in the parliament and in a way that really offers something of value to them. To do this I decided to piece together the information I have learnt  to determine a clear framework for the people's involvement in the parliament and where exactly the people have power, where they can make a worthwhile input.

Following this is has become very clear to me where to concentrate my efforts. I will search for a solution which facilitates the functions or events with which people are directly involved or have power. Functions that come to mind which could possible be housed in a Parliament designed for the people include:

• Voting stations (Although voting only happens occasionally, it is currently held in free halls, schools and the likes. Whilst this works well in terms of using underutilised infrastructure close to the voters, it does nothing for the (often) disconnection of the people with the vote and with the parliament as a whole)

• Lectures.. Given by politically independent experts on their field. This education would lead to an increased understanding of issues relating to legisalation, and also result in more informed voting and other decisions by the people. Question and answer sessions also.

• Ceremonies or events related to the areas of legislation covered by the federal Government. Eg. Ceremonies for citizenship which are currently held only twice a year.

• Information offices or similar to offer advice to people regarding legislation etc. It could become a point of contact for the people with the parliament and offer them information as they need it.

I have not yet decided if I will design a space to house all of these functions or if I will choose one to concentrate on. These different functions will ideally require quite different space conditions each, so I will wait until I have a clearer idea of the direction I am developing before I make this decision.