From Noel Wauchope

The Citizens Jury process has been used with some success in UK, USA and Germany.It does not produce any kind of binding decision, but still, a good guide to public opinion.

As the participants are selected randomly from the electoral roll, there is a very good chance that they will not include fiercely opinionated people in either side of the argument. And, such people can be excluded from the "jury", as is done in the case of a legal jury.

As I say in the article, the process does require both an independent and capable moderator, and a well informed Advisory Panel that includes equal numbers of experts of opposing views.

Such a group, in a truly fair and independent process can be expected to produce a more representative view, than a group such as the recent Royal Commission, with its predominantly pro nuclear experts.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”