The Trust Gap: Democracy in the Lucky Country

Former independent politician and journalist Zoe Daniel and the University of Melbourne Associate Professor of Political Science Aaron Martin explore the slow erosion of trust in our institutions and what lies behind it.

The accepted story is that a wave of distrust has swept across established democracies. But is that really the case?

In his book, The Trust Gap, the University of Melbourne Associate Professor of Political Science Aaron Martin draws on decades of survey data to challenge the prevailing narrative that while trust has fallen sharply in the US and UK, many democracies – Australia included – remain more resilient than the headlines suggest. Zoe Daniel, democracy advocate and former independent representative for the seat of Goldstein, brings nearly three decades of journalism, including as the ABC’s Washington bureau chief, and a term in federal parliament to a similar question of how public confidence is won and lost.

For this edition of Scholarship to Society, they join host Sally Warhaft to take stock of our levels of trust in Australian institutions and the forces at play in shaping them. 

Presented in partnership with Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, Faculty of Arts, the University of Melbourne and UMAC