In a week where a woman is charged with murder for cooking up mushrooms as a last supper, I am worried that fungus reputation is at risk. The little Gippsland community is reeling, three deaths in a small town means everyone has a connection to the story, to the experience and to people involved, from police officers to cooks, hotel staff to foragers. The mycelium of this story translates to so many other examples of toxicity when we are fed fuel designed to kill and divide us. The referendum result is still raw.
The headlines of how Australia is being viewed internationally post referendum are shameful for this global citizen. I am beginning to see signs and experience in my own life so much generosity from First Nations and others as we seek our way into next steps.
Pat Anderson’s statement is part of the prescription for every penitent. I was sitting in a GP waiting room this week (yes another medical check up) and while waiting I began to construct two prescriptions – one to inoculate the nation from further outbreaks of hate and fear funded political campaigns and the other for individualized well-being. By the time I left the waiting room I had come to the conclusion we need a public health and publicly funded health campaign to deal with the human rights issue that is at the heart of the Uluru Statement. I am sure our chief public health officials would be interested as they too are dealing with the same roots in the anti-vax movement and the electoral commissioners around the country, and other democracy enthusiasts need to be equipped with the analysis, tools and resources to protect and mend this insidious and deep, deep gaps widening based on algorithms shaping our narrative and decisions. And under the algorithms of information and disinformation is a bedrock of values, educational levels and old fashioned literacy. So let’s add a national education campaign and upskilling of our classroom teachers, address the laws to bring truth into political advertising.
We have a little opportunity for this in South Australia with reforms being considered for local government elections. If you are in SA please take some time to have a read and add your thoughts into the discussion. There are a set of questions you are asked to consider in relation to engagement:
- What requirements should be set for councils’ community engagement for what decisions?
- What should be included in the Charter and what should be left for councils’ own community engagement policies?
- Should councils have the capacity to determine how they will engage with their communities, or should the Charter be more directive in its approach?
- What other ideas do you have for councils’ community engagement?
- How would you like to see councils engage with you?
- What are the types of information you would like to see councils include when they engage with you?
I’ve got some ideas! Engagement methodologies are so much reliant on the skills and capacities and imagination of those doing the design. A very first and fundamental step in my view is to go back to the old fashioned scientific method of observation and listen deeply to what is already going on, do the analysis of the facebook groups, of the organized and check in with the not-so-usual suspects who by their absence from the formal systems are still expressing a view. I wring my hands and shake my head when I hear engagement staff from councils tell me but they don’t turn up … I say you don’t turn up to them. You need to go where they are!
I want to be heard and understood, I want those doing the examination to hold back on their bias in their questions, design and approach. People complain to me – “so and so don’t read their emails” and I have to say I ask this most weeks too. The evidence is in though that email readership is declining and so when engagement is dependent on those kinds of platforms it is unlikely to get the levels of traction required. Anyway I am meandering with my thoughts, but they are all connected! If we want to deal with the toxicity of misinformation and rebuild trust in Beef Wellingtons and democratic engagement, then forensic analysis is necessary. It starts like all analysis with looking and listening. We have more of that to do as we gather the evidence of what we need to do next.
Letters to 