In each of my biannual newsletters, I include a community survey so I can hear from locals about what's important to them. The results of my Autumn 2019 survey are now in.
In this survey, I sought locals' views on key issues like school overcrowding, public transport and a developer tax. I also wanted to make sure everyone had an opportunity to let me know what else I should be focusing on, which is why I included a final open-ended question.
The survey was mailed to each household in the Maiwar electorate, and posted online. My office received around 355 responses in total.
The key figures
Public transport
How often do you use public transport?
|
Multiple times per week |
43.73% |
150 |
|
Occasionally |
39.65% |
136 |
|
Almost never |
11.66% |
040 |
|
Never |
4.96% |
017 |
|
Total |
Answered |
343 |
What would help increase your use?
|
Lower fares |
30.20% |
106 |
|
More frequent services |
46.44% |
163 |
|
Full disability access |
6.84% |
24 |
|
Better network coverage |
35.90% |
126 |
|
Other |
25.07% |
88 |
|
Total |
Answered |
351 |
Do you support free public transport for kids?
|
Yes |
79.76% |
268 |
|
No |
20.24% |
68 |
|
Total |
Answered |
336 |
Note: there were multiple comments that public transport should be free, such as:
- “It should be free for everyone - think it would actually boost the economy”
- “free public transport especially for pensioners”
- “as in perth there should be free public transport for seniors in off peak periods also Melbourne has free public transport for seniors on sunday”
- “would like free bus to indooroopilly shops”
School overcrowding
Is school overcrowding an issue for you?
|
Yes |
43.56% |
142 |
|
No |
56.44% |
184 |
|
Total |
Answered |
326 |
I am pushing for a new P-12 school on the west side. Ideally the State government would buy back a larger site. If not, would you support a vertical school on a smaller site?
|
Yes |
76.87% |
236 |
|
No |
23.13% |
71 |
|
Total |
Answered |
307 |
Making developers pay their fair share
Large property developers make big profits when local and State governments rezone land for higher density. Would you support a 75% tax on those profits to pay for schools, public transport and green space?
|
Yes |
75.08% |
247 |
|
No |
24.92% |
82 |
|
Total |
Answered |
329 |
Other issues
Are there any other issues that politicians don't talk about enough?
There were heaps of individually nuanced and detailed concerns and ideas - but after reading through them all, my office noticed a few key themes that kept popping up.
|
Issue |
Frequency |
Rank |
|
Urban greenspace, conservation of nature & wildlife habitat |
32 |
1 |
|
Climate change & renewable energy |
30 |
2 |
|
Traffic and public & active transport |
26 |
3 |
|
Waste, recycling and sustainability |
16 |
4 |
|
Inappropriate/ unsustainable development, inadequate community consultation & public infrastructure |
15 |
5 |
|
Health, including public funding for dental & mental health services |
13 |
6 |
|
Housing & homelessness |
10 |
7 |
|
Political integrity/ corruption and accountability |
8 |
8 |
|
Education funding - equity, costs to families, etc |
8 |
9 |
|
Sustainability/ infrastructure not matching population growth |
8 |
10 |
|
Justice for First Nations peoples |
3 |
11 |
|
Other |
12 |
|
|
Total |
181 |
View the initial survey here, the raw data here, and analysed data including qualitative responses here.