NATIONAL COUNCIL CENSUS BLOWS THE DOORS OFF TOWN HALL

The first results from the National Council Census 2026 are in - and they are savage.

Around 5,000 participants nationwide have had your say.

This is not a mild protest vote. It is not a few angry residents venting after a bad planning decision or a rates notice shock. These numbers point to something much bigger: a national collapse in confidence in local government.

The early no-confidence indicators are brutal:

• 89.4% THINK COUNCIL WASTES MONEY

• 85.2% SAY COUNCIL DOES NOT MANAGE MONEY WELL

• 85.2% SAY COUNCIL IS SELF-FOCUSED

• 83.5% SAY COUNCIL HIDES TOO MUCH INFORMATION

• 81.4% HAVE NO TRUST IN COUNCIL

• 73.2% SAY COUNCIL DELIVERS NEGATIVE VALUE FOR MONEY

• 69.5% WOULD NOT RE-ELECT CURRENT COUNCILLORS

• 68.0% SAY COUNCIL CONSULTATION IS TOKENISTIC

That is not a communications issue. That is a system failure.

For years, councils have told communities they are listening. They have produced glossy strategies, staged engagement sessions, online surveys, expensive reports and carefully managed public consultation.

But the public appears to be calling it theatre.

When nearly seven in ten respondents say consultation is tokenistic, the message is clear: residents believe decisions are too often made before the community ever gets a say.

When more than eight in ten say councils hide too much information, the transparency problem is no longer theoretical.

And when almost 90 per cent say councils waste money, every CEO, mayor and councillor in the country should be paying attention.

Councils control billions in rates, fees, contracts, land, planning decisions and community services. Yet the first census results suggest many ratepayers now see them as closed, self-protective institutions that spend freely, consult selectively and answer poorly.

The verdict is ugly.

The public is not asking for more slogans.

It is demanding accountability.

Stay tuned - more to come