Q: Can you compare a ‘Pear’ with an ‘Apple’?
A: No, a pear is a pear, an apple is an apple, both fruit but not the same.
The 2025 City of Port Phillip Community satisfaction survey results have just been released, with fanfare, unlike the dreadful 2024 survey results were quietly released after the October 2024 Council elections following a question from a resident. Opps.
Hence voters were not aware of the decline of satisfaction with many of council’s services and direction till after the election.
If the community knew of the outcomes of the survey and the decline in the satisfaction of many services before they voted, councillors who were seeking reelection, may not have been reelected. The result in one such ward was very, very close.
Over years the CoPP Community Satisfaction survey was systematic and independent report of the community’s view of the direction and services delivery of Council.
Over years, these surveys were undertaken using the same methodology, same questions as the yearly data and were analysed by the same company.
These surveys compared ‘apples’ with ‘apples’ and were a valid and consistent longitudinal survey revealing valid trends, hence, the ‘2024 apples’ report was a valid comparison with previous years ‘apples’ report.
After the election, the Council then decided to appoint a new survey company with new methodology, different questions with the data being analysed by different staff and company processes for the 2025 survey.
Unsurprisingly, when you change the methodology and questions you get a different answer, hence you get a ‘2025 pear’ community satisfaction report, not a ‘2025 apple’ report.
You can compare apples with apples, but you can’t compare apples with pears.
Hence, you can’t say that the outcomes in the ‘2025 pear’ survey reveal a better satisfaction level than the ‘2024 apple’ survey.
What you can say is that the ‘2025 pear’ survey results are a base document for future years surveys.
Mayor Louise Crawford’s statement in the latest Divercity that ‘[the survey] reveals an improvement in overall satisfaction and strong community endorsement for key services’ is misleading.
You can compare ‘Apples with Apples’ but comparing ‘Apples with Pears’ is misleading at the least.
Trevor White
Resident
