from YAPRap July 2004
by Gary Moore, NCOSS Director
The Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS) has expressed alarm at the level of Government intimidation of non government organisations (NGOs) reported in a new Australia Institute report, Silencing Dissent: non government organisations and Australian democracy.
The report states that three quarters of its survey respondents believe that NGOs are being pressured to make their public statements conform with Government policy. 92% of respondents say they disagree with the view that dissenting voices are valued by Government as part of a robust democracy. Of great concern is that 90% of respondents believe that NGOs which advocate a dissenting view to Government risk having their funding cut.
The report concludes that the current Howard Federal Government is the worse culprit as it frequently seeks to bully, demean and challenge the credibility of its critics, both publicly and privately. Some 61% of respondents complain that the Federal Government does not listen to them.
But the report also lays blame at the door of State Labor Governments, with 34% of the NGO respondents indicating that State Governments are often or always not interested in their messages. Just under 30% of respondents believe that State Governments actively silence debate.
The report concludes that like individual citizens, community groups are being worn down and are increasingly reluctant to engage in the democratic process because they no longer believe that they can make a difference.
Today's Australia Institute publication is an urgent and fundamental wake up call to all Governments that for future well being, a healthy and robust, multi-faceted NGO sector is essential in all Australian communities.
In NSW, discussions between the Carr Government and the NGO sector are close to finalising a Memorandum of Understanding or Compact between the two sectors. It will be critical that the final document and the attitudes of those charged with implementing this MOU reflect a core commitment to encouraging NGOs as key advocates in the democratic process, not threatening or silencing them.
Update
by Dr Clive Hamilton, The Australia Institute
The Australia Institute's report on the role of NGOs is now available. The report, titled Silencing Dissent: Non-government organisations and Australian democracy , can be downloaded by going to Publications on The Australia Institute website www.tai.org.au
The report begins with an account of the important role played by NGOs in public debate in Australia. It also presents the results of a survey of 290 NGOs. They provide a disturbing picture of the limits on public debate in Australia: For example:
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90 per cent of respondents believe that dissenting organisations and individuals risk having their government funding cut; 76 per cent do not believe that current Australian political culture encourages public debate;
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74 per cent agree that NGOs are being pressured to amend their public statements to bring them into line with current government policy; and
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92 per cent do not believe that individuals and organisations that dissent from current government policy are valued by the government as a part of a robust democracy.
We hope that the report stimulates a vigorous public debate about the role of NGOs and their relationship to government, and I encourage you to read the report and participate in that debate drawing on your own experience.
