Politicians have been warned that the old “jobs and growth” battle cry isn’t enough to win voters, as new research shows a rising expectation for government decisions to prioritise citizen wellbeing.
It comes with widespread concern that politics may be ineffective in addressing challenges such as the cost of living, storms, floods, or unaffordable housing due to rising rents and mortgages.
CPD chief executive Andrew Hudson explained that wellbeing expanded beyond vague and hard-to-measure notions of “wellness” to include more affordable groceries, fair social services, and environmental preservation.
He said more people believed wellbeing should be prioritised as living costs rise, which indicates an increasing expectation on government programs and regulation to oversee more aspects in people’s everyday lives.
“Australians see wellbeing as including a decent standard of living, access to quality health care, education, environmental sustainability, social equity, and more,” he said, noting people want the government to directly offer these services rather than outsourcing to private contractors.
The survey indicates notable rise in support for the idea that the government’s primary role is to guarantee a decent standard of living, which opens the door for bigger government.
He said this response ranked third at 17 percent in February 2022, significantly trailing behind the top responses—deliver and fund social infrastructure and critical services, improve overall wellbeing.
“By December 2023, it was in first place with one in three people choosing it above other options,” he said.
However, he noted various perspectives about the government’s purpose and performance.
“Some of the most interesting deviations can be seen between age groups,” he added.
He noted younger voters now represent a similar proportion of eligible voters as baby boomers and are not conforming to the anticipated trend of becoming more conservative as they age.
“They are more likely than the average adult to believe that our politics is capable of taking a long-term view, that our parliaments are effective in tackling major challenges, and that our elected officials are serving their interests,” he said.
2024: A Pivotal Year for Global Democracy
Leading political scientist Professor Anne Tiernan also weighed in.She highlighted 2024 as a crucial turning point for democracy worldwide, as citizens in 70 countries will go to the polls in the next 12 months, including in the United States.
“In Australia, elections will be held in the Northern Territory (August), the Australian Capital Territory (October) and Queensland (October),” she said.
Australians last went to the polls in a referendum in October 2023, where a majority in a majority of states comprehensively rejected a proposal to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Australia’s Constitution.
Experts at the Australian National University conducted an analysis of the referendum and found that Australians are now less satisfied with democracy, less confident in the government, less satisfied with the country’s direction, and less satisfied with their own lives compared to the beginning of 2023.
“But the research confirmed a commitment to fairness and opportunity was widely shared among Australians,” Ms. Tiernan said.
“Such attitudes have proven resilient in Australian history.”
Momentum Grows Towards Individual Responsibility
It comes as a global trend is emerging, steering away from big government and embracing individual responsibility.In his State of the Nation address, ACT Party leader David Seymour stressed the importance of New Zealanders taking personal responsibility for their lives rather than relying on the government.
He said a conservative government has been absent in New Zealand since 1999, and subsequent coalition governments led by Helen Clark, John Key, and Jacinda Ardern have actively eroded the fundamental belief that individuals shape their own lives.
“Since the 1990s, the government has steadily crept further and further into your life. What has been the result?
“Education results are going backwards. One in 10 working-age New Zealanders is on a main [government] benefit. The price of a house is out of reach for most young New Zealanders. Productivity has flatlined.”
He warned of Western leaders moving away from freedom towards collectivism in recent decades.
He said Argentine leaders and citizens shifted towards collectivism in the 1920s, and as a result, the country’s global economic standing has significantly declined.
“When we embraced collectivism over the course of the last 100 years, we saw how our citizens started to become systematically impoverished, and we dropped to spot number 140 globally,” he said.
“Do not surrender to a political class that only wants to stay in power and retain its privileges. You are social benefactors. You are heroes. You are the creators of the most extraordinary period of prosperity we’ve ever seen.”
