TY - JOUR
T1 - From the Three Rs to the “Culture Wars”? How Australians Perceive Local Government Action on Climate Change, Indigenous Reconciliation, and LGBTQIA + Advocacy
AU - Chou, Mark
AU - Rutledge-Prior, Serrin
AU - Busbridge, Rachel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Australian local government has rarely been the domain where entrenched and polarising cultural disputes play out, and is instead most often associated with the “3Rs”: roads, rates, and rubbish. However, in recent years, a growing number of local councils from across Australia have taken exceptional and unprecedented steps, sometimes in defiance of state and federal governments, to address some of the country's most ideologically contentious issues. Drawing on long-established American urban politics literature on local politics and culture war conflicts, this research note offers an empirical account of the public understandings and perceptions of local government roles in the realm of contentious politics, an area that has not yet been addressed in the emerging Australian literature. Our findings from a representative nation-wide survey (n = 1,350) indicate that a majority of Australians believe that local governments should be involved in matters relating to climate change, Indigenous reconciliation, and LGBTQIA + advocacy.
AB - Australian local government has rarely been the domain where entrenched and polarising cultural disputes play out, and is instead most often associated with the “3Rs”: roads, rates, and rubbish. However, in recent years, a growing number of local councils from across Australia have taken exceptional and unprecedented steps, sometimes in defiance of state and federal governments, to address some of the country's most ideologically contentious issues. Drawing on long-established American urban politics literature on local politics and culture war conflicts, this research note offers an empirical account of the public understandings and perceptions of local government roles in the realm of contentious politics, an area that has not yet been addressed in the emerging Australian literature. Our findings from a representative nation-wide survey (n = 1,350) indicate that a majority of Australians believe that local governments should be involved in matters relating to climate change, Indigenous reconciliation, and LGBTQIA + advocacy.
KW - Indigenous advocacy
KW - LGBTQIA + advocacy
KW - climate change advocacy
KW - culture wars
KW - local government
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85189814520&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/10780874241242049
DO - 10.1177/10780874241242049
M3 - Article
SN - 1078-0874
VL - 61
JO - Urban Affairs Review
JF - Urban Affairs Review
IS - 1
ER -