Councils win out in the trust stakes

COUNCILS are more trustworthy than the State Government and are less likely to let party politics get in the way of their job, according to new polling commissioned by the state’s peak local government body.

The survey of 913 Queenslanders revealed satisfaction with the state’s councils was at more than 60 per cent as voters prepare to head to the polls in March.

The southeast Queensland region, where two councils have been dismissed in the past two years, had the highest satisfaction rate in the state – with 64 per cent of voters saying they were happy.

It also found that 29 per cent of voters across Queensland found their council to be untrustworthy, compared to about 45 per cent for both the State and Federal governments.

About two thirds of respondents found local government had a strong connection to the community, polling significantly better than the 11 per cent for the State Government and 6 per cent for the Federal Government.

Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive Greg Hallam said the polling showed that their level of government remained “by far and away” the most trusted in Queensland.

“That is little surprise given councils are the level of government closest to the community,” he said.

“It looks like a normal election based on the survey results, with an increasing number of Queenslanders happy with the direction, style and performance of their council.”

About 27 per cent of respondents agreed that councils did not let party politics get in the way of good services, compared to 9 per cent for the State Government and 8 per cent at a federal level.

The survey found that voters perceive councils as being less likely to charge unfair taxes, be corrupt and waste money than the other levels of government.

The survey, conducted by research firm Colmar Brunton, also found that among the strongest drivers for dissatisfaction with councils was a lack of community consultation prior to approval of developments and other initiatives.