Australians love their councils – but still want to get rid of them
We rely on them for roads and rubbish collection – and a new poll shows people think councils are our best level of government.
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Australians believe their local council is doing a better job collecting rubbish and maintaining suburban parks than state or federal governments carry out their functions – but also think councils should be axed.
In what would amount to a huge change to the way the nation is governed, an exclusive poll shows Australians want all levels of government to work closer together and stick to certain policy areas rather sharing responsibilities in areas such as education and health.
Australians think their local councils do better than state or federal governments - but also think they should be the first to go.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
And in a clear rebuke of state governments, people want laws and taxes to be harmonised across the states rather than the current patchwork that bedevils anyone who crosses a state border.
The survey, conducted for this masthead by research company Resolve Strategic, is based on questions to 1800 voters nationwide.
It was prompted by an investigation by this masthead into the state of the federation which revealed that despite collecting a record $1 trillion in taxes and charges this year, the nation’s long-standing system of government is failing ordinary people.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers revealed he was surprised how much of his time was swallowed up by dealing with federation issues which he described as a major economic issue.
The survey found 56 per cent of people rated the performance of their local council as good, including 18 per cent who agreed it was very good. Twenty-three per cent rated their council’s performance as poor.
Approval for councils was 10 points higher than state governments, which 46 per cent of respondents rated as good while 27 per cent rated their state as poor.
The performance of the federal government was rated good by 39 per cent. Thirty-one per cent said the federal government’s performance was poor, of which 15 per cent – the highest of any level of government – rated as very poor.
Despite endorsing their local council, respondents were more likely to agree that they should be axed.
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Asked which was the least needed layer of government, 27 per cent picked councils while 26 per cent said it should be state governments on the chopping block. Just 9 per cent said the country could survive without federal government.