Q. Protesters are arguing for the removal of monuments and memorials of individuals or organisations connected to the slave trade, genocide of Indigenous Australians and racism. In some cases, the protesters have destroyed the monuments and memorials themselves.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with these statements about removing public monuments and memorials?

•  Four-fifths of participants agree protesters should focus on making changes for people living now, rather than things that happened in the past (80%) while another 78% agree that instead of removing monuments and memorials, we should include more information about the historical context of public figures.
• Less than half of participants agree that monuments and memorials provide a constant reminder of racial discrimination in society (48%) and monuments and memorials of people who support racism, segregation or slavery glorify their actions (45%).
• 18-34 year olds are more likely than those over 55, to agree that monuments and memorials of people who support racism, segregation or slavery glorify their actions (58% of 18-34 year olds and 35% of 55+) or agree that monuments and memorials provide a constant reminder of racial discrimination in society (58% and 37% respectively).
• Participants over 55 are more likely to agree that we lose part of our history when monuments and memorials are removed (87% of those aged 55+ and 64% of 18-34) and it’s wrong to judge historical figures by our modern standards of morality (80% of 55+ and 64% of 18-34).
• Broadly Greens voters are most likely to agree with negative statements about the impact of these monuments, while Coalition voters are least likely to agree with those statements.

Q. Following the protests in the United States of America, there have been demonstrations in Australia oppose the deaths of Indigenous people in police custody.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the protests in Australia?

• While a large majority of people agree that the protests pit the community at risk by spreading Covid-19 (84%), 62% agree that protesters are justified in their demands for authorities to address the issue of Indigenous deaths in custody.
• Men (67%), those aged over 55 (64%) and Coalition voters (74%) are more likely to agree that ‘The situation in America is very different to Australia and has no relevance’ compared to women (54%), those aged under 35 (54%) and Labor and Greens voters (54% and 38%).

Q. Institutional racism is where the institutions in a society are biased in a way that means particular ethnic groups are disadvantaged.

For example, Indigenous Australians are more likely to be arrested in some situations; whereas, white (European) Australians are more likely to be warned, cautioned or diverted away from the criminal justice system. Additionally, Indigenous Australians are more likely to die in custody than white Australians. To some people these arguments show that there is institutional racism against Indigenous Australians.

Which of the following best describes your view of institutional racism in Australia?

Q. For each of the following forms of intolerance, please indicate to what extent you think it is a problem in Australia. 

47% think homophobia is a major/moderate problem in Australia – up 5% since June.

60% think that racism against people from other countries is a major/moderate problem in Australia – and 54% think racism against indigenous Australians is a major/moderate problem. These figures have not changed substantially since June.

Q. Do you think the people who booed Adam Goodes were being racist or not being racist?

29% think that the people who booed Adam Goodes were being racist or and 45% think they were not being racist.

A majority (59%) of Liberal/National voters thought they were not being racist while most (53%) Greens voters though they were being racist.

Those most likely to think they were being racist were aged 18-34 (37%) and those with a university degree (37%).

Q. For each of the following forms of intolerance, please indicate to what extent you think it is a problem in Australia. 

67% think that racism is a major/moderate problem in Australia – up 3% compared to when this question was previously asked in February last year. 61% think that religious intolerance is a major/moderate problem – up 10% since last February.

Those most likely to think racism a major/moderate problem were women (73%) and Greens voters (80%).

Those most likely to think religious intolerance a major/moderate problem were women (73%) and incomes under $600pw (69%).

Those most likely to think sexism a major/moderate problem were women (68%) and Greens voters (67%).

Those most likely to think homophobia a major/moderate problem were Greens voters (67%), Labor voters (53%) and aged 18-24 (57%).

58% of those aged 55+ think ageism is a major/moderate problem.

Q. Have you personally experienced or witnessed any of the following forms of intolerance in the past 12 months? 

33% say they have experienced or witnessed racism in the past 12 months, while about one quarter have experienced or witnessed sexism and religious intolerance. These figures have dropped a little since this question was last asked in February last year.

Younger people (aged 18-34) were more likely to have experienced/witnessed racism (45%), homophobia (27%), sexism (32%) and religious intolerance (36%). 32% of those aged 55+ say they have experienced/witnessed ageism. 32% of women say they have experienced/witnessed sexism.

Q. For each of the following forms of intolerance, please indicate to what extent you think it is a problem in Australia.

64% think that racism is a major/moderate problem in Australia – down a little compared to when this question was previously asked in June last year. Just over half believe that religious intolerance and sexism are major/moderate problems.

Those most likely to think racism a major/moderate problem were women (68%), Greens voters (85%) and Labor voters (71%).

Those most likely to think sexism a major/moderate problem were women (58%) and Greens voters (70%).

Those most likely to think homophobia a major/moderate problem were women (54%), Greens voters (77%), Labor voters (54%) and aged 18-34 (56%).

54% of those aged 55+ think ageism is a major/moderate problem.

There were no substantial differences between groups on views about religious intolerance.