Voters love local governments but want to get rid of them

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.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.

Local councils are by far the biggest source of elected officials in the country. There are 226 federal MPs and 599 state politicians compared to 4755 local councillors, mayors and shire presidents.

Labor voters (30 per cent) were more likely than Coalition supporters (23 per cent) to believe that councils were the least needed level of government. However, Liberal and Nationals supporters (29 per cent) were more agreeable to ending state governments than Labor voters (23 per cent).

Across all voters, there was a high degree of uncertainty, with 38 per cent of respondents unsure or having no preference on which level of government should go.

But those surveyed were much more assured when it came to how government should work together.

Just 4 per cent disagreed with the proposal that laws, regulations and taxes should be harmonised so that they are consistent across every state. Seventy-three per cent of people agreed with 31 per cent, saying they strongly agreed.

Another 23 per cent said they were neutral or undecided.

The most recent meeting of federal and state treasurers agreed to an overhaul of occupational licensing regulations, initially in the electrical and engineering areas, so that certified workers can easily move between states and territories.

On top of changes to the harmonisation of regulations relating to household electrical goods such as toasters, building and construction rules, states have been offered cash out of the federal government’s $900 million National Productivity Fund to fast-track reform.

This masthead’s report into the federation revealed deep dissatisfaction among state premiers about policy areas in which responsibility is often shared with Canberra.

These included health, aged care and education, into which the federal government has gradually encroached into over the past 70 years.

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The survey found 58 per cent of people wanted policy areas to be the sole responsibility of one level of government, with just 9 per cent disagreeing.

Forty-seven per cent of people agreed that state governments should deliver services without the need for elected representatives or parliaments. Such a move would upend states that would effectively become unelected, bureaucracy-led administrations.

A third of respondents were neutral or undecided about such a change that would also face almost insurmountable constitutional hurdles to ever come to fruition.