“We trust in Him. We don’t trust in governments. We don’t trust in[the] United Nations,thank goodness,” Morrison said.
But when it comes to trust,turns out he was right – especially when it comes tohis government. Research from the Australian Election Study reveals when we elected Scott Morrison’s government in 2019,Australians had the lowest levels of political trust on record,says Sarah Cameron,researcher at Griffith University and an Australian expert in the way we feel about politicians and the political process.
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Over the last decade,that study showed Australians experienced a steep decline in trust in government and satisfaction with democracy. In 2019,as we elected Morrison and his government,just one in 10 Australians thought politicians were in it for the public good. Most of the others all thought politicians were in it for themselves or to represent vested interests.
And sure,politicians and pundits can do all the social-media-voter-blaming they like but,as Cameron says, ″government performance has been a major factor driving the decline,which ismuch steeper in Australia than in other democracies around the world”.
Now we are back,baby. Our trust bouncedwhen we elected this lot,led by Anthony Albanese. Cameron of Griffith says it’s typical for us to express hope and enthusiasm for the future when we elect a new government and don’t just give another chance to the old crew. With one exception.
In 2013 when we elected Tony Abbott,our faith had been destroyed during the wholeRudd-Gillard-Rudd mayhem of 2007 to 2013 – backstabbing,factionalism,pointless tribalism. In 2007,when it was time for Kevin 07,Rudd had the highest trust of any PM ever,yet Labor squandered that. By the time we voted for Abbott,we were a ruin of our former confident assertive selves. According to Australian Election Study data,Abbott was the least popular PM on record to that point. New data from ANU reveals that Morrison madeAbbott look like a local hero.