Leadership in an era of low trust: RoboDebt, the Voice and beyond

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 27 September 2023
Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Venue: Old Parliament House, 18 King George Terrace, Parks
Catering: Canapes and drinks provided
Cost: Free to attend

About

The Australian Government has identified winning back trust in government and our public institutions to be a key national challenge. UNSW Canberra welcomes international leader in public trust research Professor Gerry Stoker, along with two national leaders in public debate, Kate Carnell AO and regular Mandarin author Sean Innis, who will consider the challenge of rebuilding public trust in the context of recent policy disasters, current debate around the Voice referendum, and emerging deliberative approaches to citizen engagement.

Visiting Professor Gerry Stoker’s work on elite trust considers how operating in low trust environments change the way policy leaders respond to our most pressing policy challenges. The RoboDebt disaster highlights deeply troubling insights into the nature of elite trust and raises the challenge for our leaders of the balance between not naively trusting ministers but still enabling the responsive collective action required in our Westminster system.

Stoker’s international research on public trust challenges the dichotomy between trust and mistrust by suggesting there are at least three forms of response, each requiring its own strategic response to grow public trust. What does this mean for the strategies of the Yes and No campaigns to the Voice referendum, and might some strategies from either side further undermine public trust?

Also, Stoker’s recent writing on increasingly popular deliberative approaches to engagement shows significant emphasis on the bringing together of citizens, but much less on the link between these events and formal decision making or policy outcomes. Could this growing emphasis inadvertently lift expectations, without a means for meaningful change, resulting in a further decline in trust that governments are able to address ‘wicked’ policy problems.

Speakers

Professor Gerry Stoker - Professor of Politics and Governance at the University of Southampton

Kate Carnell AO – National convenor of Liberals for Yes campaign, former. ACT Chief Minister

Sean Innis – Principle of Damala St Consulting, a former senior public servant and regular contributor to the Mandarin

Agenda

Contact

If you have any questions about this event, please don't hesitate to get in touch with UNSW Canberra Events on events@adfa.edu.au or on (02) 5114 5279