Welcome to OurVoice! We're thrilled to have you here as a member of our community. Our platform is designed to enable citizens to discuss public policy options and issues and to provide elected officials and Members of Parliament and their advisers with the community-based knowledge and understanding they require to better represent their electorates, and help shape policies directed to the common good. To ensure a positive and productive experience for everyone, we ask that you follow our community guidelines:

Be respectful:

We ask that you treat all members of our community with respect, empathy and kindness. Needless to say, harassment, hate speech, and discrimination are not tolerated on our platform. No one will be permitted to engage in behaviour that is harmful, threatening, or offensive to others.

Participants in OurVoice are interested in each other's point of view even when there is strong disagreement. They are open to differences of view and wish to foster a mutually beneficial dialogue, in which listening is as important as speaking. They are engaged in a common enterprise.

Stay on topic:

Our platform is designed for discussions around public policy, the issues that policy is meant to deal with and the options before us. Please ensure that your posts and comments are relevant to the issues and options under discussion. Off-topic content will be removed.

Use reliable information:

We believe in the importance of informed, thoughtful discussion, and for this we need the information you share to be as accurate as possible. In other words, it should be supported by reputable sources. Where there is genuine disagreement about the factual situation among experts, any argument should, as far as possible, take note of the competing analyses offered by different experts. Misinformation and fake news are not welcome on OurVoice.

Be constructive:

We encourage healthy and helpful discussion and exchange of views. Please ensure that your comments and posts are constructive and contribute positively to the discussion, and that every effort is made to listen attentively to the values and views of others. Personal attacks and insults are not productive and will be removed.

Respect everyone's privacy and do not share personal information about others without their prior consent.

If we all follow these community guidelines, we can help make OurVoice a positive and productive space for everyone. Thank you for being a part of our community.