Australia’s political leadership: best influenced by elites or the people?

On other issues, Labor has taken heed of public opinion. We see this in the tougher rules for foreigners in terms of home ownership rules, and by recent cuts to immigration numbers after extensive public debate.

But Australia, like most Western nations, will have to make tougher policy decisions, especially if Australia is unable to ride the China benefit forever.

Already there is some evidence that public attitudes do not always necessarily accept the status quo, although public attitudes again have shifted since the global financial crisis. The ANU study found that, of the belief that trade unions have too much power, the figure declined from 62 to 37 per cent between 1996 and 2007 before again rising to 49 per cent in 2010. It had been 82 per cent in 1979.

The view that less tax is needed also fell from 57 to 34 per cent by 2007 (39 per cent in 2010), while those urging more social welfare spending increased from 17 to 47 per cent (34 per cent in 2010).

Even the belief that assistance to Aboriginals had gone too far declined from 55 to 31 per cent between 1996 and 2007 (35 per cent in 2010), while opposition to the transfer of land rights also lessoned from 61 to 36 per cent (35 per cent in 2010).

Other issues subject to changing public attitudes in difficult times may include the age-old debate over industry protection, although any move by governments to find the middle ground may also be influenced by what happens in the more powerful and influential Western democracies of North America and Europe. While governments now appear hell-bent on promoting mining, are Australians going to even allow our world-class agricultural sector to lose out and manufacturing to almost vanish?

In addition, do we really think that a modern Western society can survive on such a reliance on consumption, a development partly funded by rising household debt? Do we really think that Australia can build regional cities and attract people to live there without decent agriculture and even manufacturing sectors?

Do we simply accept the argument that new industries will compensate for losses from old industries, such as our increasing reliance upon the almost barbaric export of live cattle and the growth of international students in Australia? In the case of the latter, there were 469,619 in 2010, but will they come in the future mainly to complete business management or hospitality courses?

There may also be much greater anger about record home unaffordability, which is indeed the biggest cost that any family will face in its lifetime.

Australian governments, like their Western counterparts, should ultimately contribute to extensive and sophisticated debate with their policy proposals, but they should always listen from their interaction with the public in response to various debates. If this vital interaction is downplayed, then our capacity to remain a successful liberal democracy will wane and policy elites themselves may also contribute to the dumbing down of debate.