Voters love local governments but want to get rid of them
Australians believe their local councils do a better job of picking up litter and maintaining commuter parks than state or federal governments, but they also think the councils should be abolished.
Australians want all levels of government to work more closely together and stick to specific policy areas rather than sharing responsibilities in areas such as education and health, a private poll shows, in what would represent a major change in the way the country is governed.
And people who openly condemn state governments want laws and taxes to be harmonized across states, rather than the current patchwork that plagues everyone who crosses state lines.
The survey conducted for this imprint by the research company Resolve Strategic is based on questions asked to 1800 voters across the country.
An investigation by this imprint into the state of the federation found that despite collecting a record $1 trillion in taxes and fees this year, the country’s long-standing system of government has failed ordinary people.
Federal Chancellor of the Exchequer Jim Chalmers said he was surprised at how much of his time was spent dealing with federation problems, which he described as a major economic problem.
The survey found that 56 per cent of people rated their local council’s performance as good, with 18 per cent agreeing it was very good. Twenty-three per cent rated their council’s performance as poor.
Approval for councils was 10 points higher than for state governments; 46 percent of those surveyed rated their state as good, while 27 percent rated their state as bad.
The federal government’s performance was rated good by 39 percent. 31 percent said the federal government’s performance was poor, while 15 percent rated it very poor (the highest rate of any level of government).
Despite supporting their local council, respondents were more likely to agree that he should be sacked.
When asked which layer of government was least needed, 27 per cent chose councils, while 26 per cent said they should be cut from state governments. Only 9 percent of respondents said the country could survive without the federal government.
Local councils are by far the largest source of elected officials in the country. There are 4755 local councillors, mayors and regional heads, as well as 226 federal MPs and 599 state politicians.
Labor voters (30 per cent) were more likely than Coalition supporters (23 per cent) to believe councils are the least needed level of government. But Liberal and National supporters (29 per cent) are more supportive of ending state governments than Labor voters (23 per cent).
There was a high level of uncertainty among all voters; 38 percent of respondents were undecided or had no preference on what level of government should go.
But survey respondents were much more confident about how the government should work together.
Only 4 percent disagreed with the suggestion that laws, regulations and taxes should be aligned so that they are consistent in every state. Seventy-three percent of people said they strongly agreed, with 31 percent agreeing.
23 percent said they were neutral or undecided.
The most recent meeting of federal and state treasurers agreed to overhaul occupational licensing regulations, primarily in electrical and engineering, so that certified workers can easily move between states and territories.
Along with harmonizing regulations on household electrical goods such as toasters and changes to building and construction rules, states have been offered cash from the federal government’s $900 million National Productivity Fund to accelerate reforms.
This imprint’s report to the federation revealed deep dissatisfaction among state premiers with policy areas where responsibility is often shared with Canberra.
These included health, aged care and education, where the federal government has gradually intervened over the past 70 years.
The survey found that 58 percent of people want policy areas to be the responsibility of government at some level, with only 9 percent disagreeing.
Forty-seven percent of people agreed that state governments should provide services without the need for elected representatives or parliaments. Such a move would disrupt states that would effectively become unelected, bureaucracy-led governments.
One-third of those polled were neutral or undecided about such a change, which would face nearly insurmountable constitutional hurdles to implement.
Shane Wright- Shane is the senior economic correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: excitement or email.
