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Australia’s relations with other nations

12 Apr 2010

Q. Would you like to see Australia’s relationship with these countries get closer, stay the same or become less close?

  Get closer Stay the same Become less close Don’t know
China 33% 45% 13% 9%
New Zealand 33% 56% 2% 8%
Indonesia 30% 48% 12% 10%
United States 24% 59% 9% 8%
United Kingdom 24% 62% 5% 8%
India 24% 50% 16% 10%
Japan 24% 59% 8% 10%
Germany 16% 65% 7% 12%
South Africa 13% 63% 12% 12%

When it comes to Australia’s relationship getting closer with various countries, 33% think Australia’s relations with China should get closer, 45% think our relations with China should stay the same and 13% think they should become less close.

33% support a closer relationship with New Zealand and 30% support a closer relationship with Indonesia.  The country that scores the highest in terms of one which Australia should become less close with is India (16%). 

Labor (36%) voters were more likely to think that Australia’s relations with China should become closer, while Coalition (17%) and Greens (23%) voters were more likely to think it should be less close. 

Labor voters were more likely to think Australia’s relations with India should stay the same (55%), while Coalition voters were more likely to think they should become less close (20%).

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