Challenging the irrevocable decline: Democratic satisfaction, federal cohesion and political culture in Australia

Like many Western democracies, Australia has experienced a decline in popular trust in elected institutions. However, interpreting reasons and possible solutions through surveys of public attitudes is difficult, given susceptibility to changes in political climate, electoral cycles, and media discourse. Yet, if different elements of public opinion track differently over a given period, especially if they span recognized categories of diffuse and specific factors, it may be possible to identify reforms that might address falling trust and thus improve to the health of the political system. This chapter uses results from the first four Australian Constitutional Values Surveys (2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014) to examine the role of different factors in public opinion—particularly evidence that elements of federal political culture are holding constant, even when satisfaction in democracy and in the federal system is suffering declines. The results challenge assumptions that Australia’s system works well as a stable recipe for national political cohesion, but they also provide a new basis for believing that strengthening and improving federalism is one important option for addressing this and thus for bolstering public trust in governance overall.