Trust can be rebuilt if we all work on it T

RUST – like love – isn’t a feeling; it’s an action. It has to be earned, proven and repeated.

These days, you have to look hard to find tangible examples of trust, so it’s no wonder we are disillusioned and frustrated with people and institutions who falsely parade as being on our side.

From banks to churches, politicians to paedophiles, aged care providers to dodgy doctors and scam artists, the crippling of confidence is widespread.

A society without trust is a broken one, defined by fear, conflict and unmitigated crime as authorities fail to meet community expectations. No thanks.

Facebook is back in the spotlight this week, being sued for squillions for allegedly exposing the private information of more than 300,000 Australians and allowing it to be sold for political profiteering.

The Australian Information and Privacy Commission lawsuit is being called unprecedented.

Perhaps it is, but what is not unprecedented is trust trashing.

The latest Griffith Review quarterly compilation of essays is dedicated to “exploring the implications and opportunities of this collapse in trust”.

I like the focus on opportunities. That’s what adversity throws up – opportunities to learn, grow and change for the better.

Trust can be rebuilt, but it takes a lot of work.

Professor Anne Tiernan, of the Griffith Business School, says trust is a two-way street.

Citizens must be responsible for the democracy created instead of being passive observers, Tiernan writes in the Griffith Review.

She says little has been done since Scott Morrison’s “miracle win” at last year’s federal election to address growing cynicism and the vulnerability of political parties to domination by zealots.

Tiernan is right when she says good governance and quality public services don’t happen by accident.

The way I see it, if we want to fix what’s broken in society – including trust – then we have to be part of the solution.

We must demand better responses and propose new ways forward instead of lazily accepting a dismal status quo.