From Turnbull to Morrison: Understanding the Trust Divide

From Turnbull to Morrison: Understanding the Trust Divide

By Mark Evans, Michelle Grattan, Brendan

 Chapter 2: Trust and Democracy in Australia

Australians should take pride in enjoying the system of democracy that has been established as a tradition in the country. Having a stable government in place where citizens can freely express themselves should be a much-celebrated value in Australia. Nonetheless, the results of democratic governance in Australia may also be painting a grim picture altogether. For instance, there is a growing trust divide between the people and those who have been placed in authority. The main evidence presented by the authors is the fast rate at which satisfaction level towards democracy is declining among the citizens. There is also a receding trust for authority in politics. Members of the public also feel that the government has gradually lost the capacity to address issues affecting the nation. The democratic culture is also divergent and has come to a sharp brink because the civilians no longer pay allegiance to democracy.  Several citizens are seeking new political machinery to represent their views and values at the national level for the sake of the future. In July 2018, a national survey was carried out to determine the degree of trust towards political systems and the state of democracy in Australia. The authors note that political trust “is a relational concept that is about keeping promises and agreements” (Evans, Grattan and McCaffrie 2019, p. 33).  Australia has also faced a democratic decline for some decades now. However, such a type of reduction has been replicated across the globe, as witnessed with the upsurge in resistance movements and uprisings.

Moreover, political integrity and empathy seem to have been lost since the country is more divided than a few decades ago. The main strength of chapter two is that the author explores both milestones and missing links in the system of democracy as applied in Australia. The chapter also addresses aspects of gender and democracy in such a way that there are higher chances of females being dissatisfied with democracy than males.
In the past year, several cases of espionage and the influence of Australian politicians by foreign forces were becoming common. A senator resigned because he accepted money from a businessman who had close ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Foreign media correspondents in Australia are now considering whether to register, even if they work according to strict journalistic rules. So far, there has been no such registration for foreign correspondents in Australia. A journalist rhetorically asked on Facebook: “Australia is a democracy, isn’t it”? The Canberra call is part of a whole range of laws and measures aimed at reducing democratic rights in Australia. In recent years, a massive number of laws have been passed that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.  The 2001 terrorist attacks in New York led to a raft of new laws in Australia. There have been cuts in freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of movement, the right to demonstrate – all fundamental rights that underpin our democracy.  This also includes the laws against “outside influence,” which in particular curtail the rights of journalists in Australia. According to the activist group Get-Up, reporters are at risk of life imprisonment if they publish information that, in the government’s eyes, damages national security. This fact already applies if the journalist’s information loses a third country faith and trust in Australia, according to the Sydney Criminal Lawyers. One of the laws also extends the definition of “national security” to economic goods and trade. It is now an offense to report anything that could harm Australia’s reputation internationally – politically or economically..

Chapter 27:  The Revolving Door of Australian Prime Ministers

Mary Walsh begins the chapter by noting that citizens have lost their trust in the Australian government, as witnessed in the august 2018 leadership spills. As a result, the nation has been perceived as a coup capital contrary to the expectations of civilians.  The “revolving door of prime ministers” is the main bone of contention. In 2008, the position of prime minister held by Turnbull was successfully refuted and defended (Walsh2019). The internal party politics within the Liberal party was evident, bearing in mind that the conservative Peter Dutton was the one who brought the contention despite being among the key members of the party. Of course, Turnbull lost his premier position on 24 August 2018. The terms of the campaign was a critical concern during the elections.
It remains to be seen whether Morrison’s Liberal Party and the National Party can continue to govern alone or whether they need the support of independent MPs in Parliament.Opposition leader Bill Shorten, 52, admitted his defeat on election night. By phone, he congratulated Morrison on the surprising success. However, the disappointment at Labor is quite considerable. The party had been leading the polls for two and a half years until election day. Even the first projection was still in the lead. But then the numbers got worse hour by hour. Until Shorten stepped in front of his followers, admitted defeat, and also announced his resignation.

At least four mandates went to independent candidates. If the center-right alliance failed to get its majority, a minority government would also be possible, which could easily be tolerated by the independents. In the election campaign, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer presented himself primarily as a guarantee of Australian growth. There has been no recession there for 28 years. The party leader of the Liberals also made it clear that the economy and the preservation of jobs – for example, in the important coal industry – are more important than ambitious goals in the fight against climate change, as Labor wanted. He is the sixth head of government since 2005. Due to election victory, which many in his party no longer believed in, Morrison has a stronger position in his camp than ever before. The 51-year-old has only been party and government leader since August 2018. At that time, he came into office after a revolt against predecessor Malcolm Turnbull. Morrison was Australia’s sixth head of government since 2005 since Angela Merkel became Chancellor. In the past decade, not a single leader has completed the term. Australians are fed up with the many changes, according to political professor John Warhurst. In the meantime, the Liberals have changed their rules for the election of the party leader: Now, Morrison has a good chance of spending the full three years in office until the next parliamentary election. Only five of Queensland’s 30 seats went to the laboratory. This regional weakness contributed significantly to the party’s election defeat. Queensland has long been considered Australia’s “Deep North.” It is noteworthy that the Labor Party paid little attention to the conservative state in the election campaign. Frustrated environmentalists have already called for a “Quexit,” the exclusion of Queensland from the Australian Confederation, to enable a more progressive environmental policy.

References

Evans, M.,Halupka, M. and Stoker, G.  2019. “Trust and Democracy in Australia,” From Turnbull to Morrison: The Trust Divide, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, pp. 17-          35.

Walsh, M. 2019. “The Revolving Door of Australian Prime Ministers”, From Turnbull to Morrison: The Trust Divide, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, pp. 332-338.