Q. Thinking about the Australian troops in Afghanistan, do you think Australia should –
| 25 Oct 2010 | 21 Mar 2011 | 29 Aug 2011 | Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Increase the number of troops in Afghanistan | 10% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 3% |
| Keep the same number of troops in Afghanistan | 30% | 30% | 26% | 22% | 21% | 29% | 11% |
| Withdraw our troops from Afghanistan | 47% | 56% | 64% | 64% | 66% | 57% | 76% |
| Don’t know | 14% | 9% | 7% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
64% (no change) think Australia should withdraw our troops from Afghanistan, 22% (down 4%) think we should maintain troop numbers and 3% (down 1%) think we should increase them.
Since October last year, support for withdrawal of Australian troops has increased from 47% to 64%. There was majority support for withdrawal by all voting groups – 57% of Lib/Nat voters, 66% Labor and 76% Greens. Support for withdrawal was also similar across age groups but women were more likely than men to support withdrawal of troops (72% to 55%).