Decision Process Database
The decisions of government are often mysterious. It is next to impossible, for instance, to learn the basis of the federal and State and Territory governments' decisions to allow the release upon the public of a certain vaccine or other drug, as to its efficacy, safety, and necessity. Such decisions can easily appear to be based on fourth-hand hearsay and arbitrary consensus and not at all transparent. My proposal ...more »
The decisions of government are often mysterious. It is next to impossible, for instance, to learn the basis of the federal and State and Territory governments' decisions to allow the release upon the public of a certain vaccine or other drug, as to its efficacy, safety, and necessity. Such decisions can easily appear to be based on fourth-hand hearsay and arbitrary consensus and not at all transparent.
My proposal is the establishment of a single web site, perhaps called Government Process Watch, to which all levels of government contribute in the future (and gradually archive from the past) links to the documents reflecting their decision-making processes. Such documents would include (but not be limited to):
• meeting minutes;
• terms of reference for past, present, and future inquiries;
• links enabling submissions to current inquiries;
• annotated links to law databases, including case reports relevant to government decisions;
• contact details for all parliamentary representatives and for all government sections and shire councillors;
• research proposals (e.g., proposals for drug research bearing on drug-registration applications; proposals for environmental investigation bearing on development proposals);
• requirements and limits on research set by government agencies;
• research findings;
• what evidence was taken into account in making government decisions, what was not, and why.
Enabling input into future decisions by the public may be rather straightforward once the links are established between the central resource and the pending decisions of various government bodies and agencies.
The web site would be incredibly useful to individuals and not-for-profits because it would reduce the frustrations of having to gather such information from many sources and offer not-for-profits an opportunity to engage with government that otherwise might require unaffordable research. It would as well be a significant advance for democratic participation by individuals and make government accountability something that government itself undertakes and renews in full view of the public.
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