Trust in Government is at an historic low while satisfaction with democracy is at its lowest level in 40 years. People don’t believe the Government is run for all people, or can be trusted to do the right thing.
Fewer than 60% of voters are satisfied with democracy, the lowest level since just after the mid-1970s constitutional crisis.
Satisfaction with democracy has fallen 27% since 2007, a steeper decline than in the UK following Brexit or the US following Donald Trump’s election win.
Only 1 in 4 Australians believe the Government can be trusted to do the right thing, the lowest level on record.
Just 12% believe the Government is being run for all Australians.
While satisfaction with democracy has been falling since it reached a high in 2007, it is now at its lowest level since the constitutional crisis in the mid-1970s. It is still higher than in the UK or US but the fall has been steeper since both the UK Brexit referendum and the Trump 2016 election victory.
In 2007, Australian’s satisfaction with democracy would have put it in the top three OECD countries. By 2019, Australia is 13th.
Along with a loss of faith in democracy, voters are losing trust with Government. Voter responses show that trust in Government has reached the lowest level on record with the data going back to 1969. Just one quarter of voters think the Government can be trusted.
75 per cent of those surveyed think people in Government look after themselves, a figure that has been rising since 2007 when it was nearly 20% lower.
Another worrying sign is that a majority - 56% - believe the Government is run for a few big interests and only 12% think it is run for all people. That so few people believe the government is run for the Australian people, presents a serious challenge for a representative democracy.