Support for cooperatives runs high

ACCORD has released findings of the first ever Australian Social Attitudes Survey.

More than a quarter of Australians believe co-operatives are the best providers of banking and insurance services, according to the first Australian Social Attitudes Survey. 22% believe them to be the best providers of food retailing.

According to ACCORD Senior Research Fellow Andrew Passey these are surprisingly high figures given the emphasis placed on the shareholding market economy in Australia.

"People clearly want a choice", Passey says. "Our survey shows that many prefer organisations that are owned by their members, and where members have a greater say in the way their organisation is run, rather than simply being a taxpayer or shareholder."

Results at a glance

One in three Australians is, or has been, a member of a co-operative.
Almost 72% of Australians agree that co-operatives show people can still work together, and 65% feel that co-operatives do good work.
Athough co-operatives receive very little media attention , only 11% of Australians agreed that they are old-fashioned.
Six in ten respondents agree that co-operatives help make the market place fairer.

On demutualisation...

When asked if they agreed or disagreed that changing ownership from members to shareholders for high profile mutual organisations such as the AMP and NRMA Insurance, was a mistake for these organisations, almost half (49%) agreed it had been a mistake. In contrast, only 19% disagreed.