Prime Minister Scott Morrison has topped a list of the country’s most distrusted politicians.
Distrust of the government soared in the second half of 2021 following a string of sexual misconduct scandals and pandemic fallout, according to studies by Roy Morgan Research.
An SMS poll conducted this month showed also at the top of the list for least trusted politicians were Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.
The three actually appeared above Vladimir Putin in terms of public distrust, but since the Russian President is not Australian, he was not counted.
Clive Palmer topped the list in terms of net distrust – calculated by subtracting distrust scores from trust scores – but was also discounted, as he is not a currently serving MP.
Taking distrust on its own, Mr Morrison was the mosxjmtzywt distrusted politician in Australia.
The most distrusted politicians in Australia were:
- Scott Morrison
- Peter Dutton
- Barnaby Joyce
- Pauline Hanson
- Craig Kelly
- Dominic Perrottet
- Angus Taylor
- Michaelia Cash
- Josh Frydenberg
- Matthew Guy
Members of the coalition were well represented on the list, while on the flip side, Labor members dominated the list of most trusted politicians, with Senator Penny Wong taking the number-one spot.
Leader of the opposition Anthony Albanese was in the number-two position, climbing from 8th position in March 2020.
Former Liberal NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian featured 6th in the list of most trusted politicians, but was discounted as she is also not currently a sitting member of parliament.
The most trusted politicians in Australia were:
- Penny Wong
- Anthony Albanese
- Tanya Plibersek
- Mark McGowan
- Jacqui Lambie
- Adam Bandt
Distrust in government and public services has far exceeded the level of trust since early 2019, leading to a consistently negative “Net Trust Score”.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the mood briefly switched, with most people saying the government was doing a good job of running the country.
However, that trust peaked in 2020 and early 2021, before dipping again prior to allegations by Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins of sexual assault.
Extended lockdowns in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra in the second half of 2021, along with scarcity of Rapid Antigen Tests later in the year saw distrust in government increase to record levels.
According to Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine, high levels of distrust in the government date back to disunity in the Labor Party during the Rudd/Gillard years, which carried through during the Abbott, Turnbull and early Morrison governments.
Mr Morrison’s unexpected victory in the 2019 federal election led to a brief period of higher levels of trust in government.
“But by June 2021, it all went into reverse – Black Summer bushfires, the end of JobKeeper, parliamentary sex scandals and Covid vaccination delays all sent trust plummeting and distrust climbing,” Ms Levine said.
