Councils key role in locality debates

摘要

As citizens, it is both our right and very easy to campaign against any change proposed in a locality. The truth is that outrage can be readily fomented. But it's often lazy. We abrogate our citizens' responsibility if we refuse even to engage in debate.The question is how best to encourage thoughtful citizen engagement on a contentious matter. Local government has a key role to play. That it is local means there should be the opportunity to have a conversation, a real exchange of views where different perspectives can be heard and their relative merits considered.