Centre for Policy Development paper says 73% think politics fixated on short-term gains, not addressing long-term challenges

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A new survey on Australian attitudes to democracy suggests our faith in Australia’s system of government is waning, in the face of short-term, knee-jerk politics and a growing scepticism about whether politicians have voters’ interests at heart.

A discussion paper released on Tuesday by the Centre for Policy Development concludes that 73% of Australians think politics is fixated on short-term gains and not on addressing long-term challenges.

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Only 34% thought politicians were good at making difficult decisions when representing their communities, and just 39% thought that parliaments were effective at tackling the major challenges facing their communities.

The survey also paints a picture of a sceptical public. Two-thirds responded that politicians did not seem to be serving their interests, and 65% said they thought lobbyists had too much influence.

The survey for the centre was undertaken by Essential in October 2017 and was based on an online panel of 1,025 respondents. It was overseen by Glenn Withers from Australian National University and sought to replicate similar polls undertaken in 1994 and 2015.

Taken with the Lowy Institute’s finding in April this year that only 60% of Australia’s voting age population (and only 52% of 18- to 29-year-olds) believe that “democracy is preferable to any other kind of government”, the survey raises many concerns.

Australia's democratic "bargain": how we feel about politics Australia’s democratic “bargain”: how we feel about politics

But the good news out of the survey is that Australians are broadly in agreement on the way forward.



Unlike the US where debate over “draining the swamp” has deteriorated into an all-out war between President Donald Trump and institutions such as media organisations, the FBI and Congress, Australians have an appetite for democratic renewal and substantial policy reform, the survey’s authors said.

“Every day we’re reminded our democracy is struggling under the strain of new and old challenges,” said the centre’s chief executive, Travers McLeod. “The arduous and painful path to marriage equality despite broad public support is one example. The rolling crisis over the citizenship status of parliamentarians is another.

“And this isn’t a temporary blip. For too many years we’ve been treading water while the big challenges of our time – climate change, inequality, the future of work, sustainable growth, and Australia’s place in the region – have gathered steam. We need better answers, and we don’t have any more time to lose.”

Last month the former head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Terry Moran, who chairs the centre, gave a speech to senior public servants describing the state of policy advice in Canberra as being “in palliative care”.

He also criticised a policy direction he had helped implement for the Rudd-Gillard governments – contracting out to the private sector the delivery of social services such as job search.

“What’s clear from CPD’s research,” said Moran “is that Australians think reinvigorating our democracy is a pressing and overdue task. This is about improving the way the system works and ensuring that the best contemporary policy ideas rise to the top.”



The report offers some clear signposts to both fixing the system and policy directions.

It showed Australians strongly back reforms such as a federal anti-corruption commission (77%), a tougher code of conduct for MPs (79%), putting citizens on parliamentary committees (68%), fixed four-year parliamentary terms (58%), and giving public agencies more independence (55%).



Unlike Americans, Australians want an active government that boosts equality and protects the most vulnerable, the survey found.



Despite the constant talk of tax cuts, the survey found a majority – 61% – were willing to pay more tax in return for better services and improved infrastructure and are highly sceptical of outsourced human services.

The report also drew on a focus group of 30 eminent Australians who assembled in Melbourne last month to discuss the challenges to democracy.

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“The importance of genuine citizen engagement in democracy and the policy making process was emphasised by the roundtable participants as one example of the paradox of Australia’s democracy [and parliamentarians] listening but not hearing,” the report said.

“The postal survey for marriage equality provided ample evidence that Australians haven’t switched off,” the authors said.

This week the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, warned against a repetition of the postal vote exercise as a way of devising policy. But the authors say people are interested in citizen engagement in the process, though probably by more modern forms of communication than the post.

“There is a huge appetite for greater citizen involvement in policymaking whether it be through citizen juries or allowing citizens to serve on parliamentary committees, alongside politicians,” the paper said.