Is it enough just to vote every three years? Can we debate issues and policies in depth at other times, and build some sort of collective decision-making? And can we make sure we find common ground and don’t get polarised like the US? Our three speakers all contribute to the quality of national discussions. The first two are directors of two of this country’s major public policy think-tanks and the third is a major writer on these issues. Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Previously he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Katherine Errington is the Executive Director of the Helen Clark Foundation. Previously she worked as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Max Rashbrooke is a journalist, author and academic based in Wellington. His book Government for the Public Good, examines the failures of market-based reforms and suggests a form of deep democracy as the best means to create governments fit for the twenty-first century. He has written and spoken about a number of forms of participatory democracy that move cities and countries past antagonistic stand-offs.