Influence of the US
Q. Thinking about Australia’s relationship with the United States of America, how do you rate the influence of the United States of America on each of the following aspects?
| TOTAL: Positive | TOTAL: Negative | Very positive | Somewhat positive | Somewhat negative | Very negative | Unsure | |
| Australia’s defence, military, and national security | 63% | 19% | 21% | 42% | 12% | 7% | 18% |
| Australia’s international trade | 59% | 19% | 14% | 45% | 13% | 6% | 22% |
| Australia’s culture | 49% | 33% | 13% | 37% | 22% | 10% | 18% |
| Australia’s politics | 47% | 31% | 11% | 35% | 20% | 11% | 23% |
| American corporations and businesses operating in Australia | 53% | 26% | 12% | 41% | 19% | 7% | 21% |
| TOTAL: Positive influence | Jun’21 | May’20 | Aug’19 |
| Australia’s defence, military, and national security | 63% | 54% | 65% |
| Australia’s international trade | 59% | 48% | 56% |
| Australia’s culture | 49% | 43% | 51% |
| Australia’s politics | 47% | 41% | 43% |
| American corporations and businesses operating in Australia | 53% | 47% | 57% |
| Base (n) | 1,087 | 1,087 | 1,096 |
| TOTAL: Positive influence | Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | ||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||||
| Australia’s defence, military, and national security | 63% | 67% | 60% | 51% | 62% | 74% | 65% | 77% | 42% | 54% | ||
| Australia’s international trade | 59% | 62% | 56% | 48% | 60% | 69% | 59% | 73% | 36% | 56% | ||
| Australia’s culture | 49% | 50% | 48% | 42% | 53% | 52% | 48% | 62% | 27% | 46% | ||
| Australia’s politics | 47% | 50% | 43% | 36% | 49% | 53% | 44% | 63% | 25% | 38% | ||
| American corporations and businesses operating in Australia | 53% | 58% | 48% | 43% | 55% | 60% | 53% | 65% | 35% | 45% | ||
| Base (n) | 1,087 | 527 | 560 | 328 | 374 | 385 | 378 | 407 | 98 | 102 | ||
- Australians are as likely as they were in August 2019 to rate the US as a positive influence on Australia. The biggest increases to the positive influence of the US were defence, military and national security (63%, from 54%), and Australia’s international trade (59%, from 48%).
US Presidential Nominee Favourability
Q. How favourable or unfavourable do you feel towards each of the US Presidential nominees?
| TOTAL: Favourable | TOTAL: Unfavourable | Very favourable | Somewhat favourable | Somewhat unfavourable | Very unfavourable | Unsure | Never heard of them | |
| Donald Trump | 28% | 61% | 13% | 14% | 14% | 47% | 10% | 1% |
| Joe Biden | 43% | 37% | 13% | 30% | 17% | 20% | 18% | 3% |
| TOTAL: Favourable | Total | Federal Voting Intention | Gender | |||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | Male | Female | |||
| Donald Trump | 28% | 22% | 39% | 16% | 31% | 36% | 20% | |
| Joe Biden | 43% | 49% | 45% | 58% | 29% | 47% | 40% | |
| Base (n) | 1,063 | 352 | 431 | 85 | 100 | 530 | 533 | |
- Joe Biden is viewed more favourably by Australians ahead of the Presidential election this week. 43% say they feel favourable to the Democrat nominee, compared to 28% who feel favourable to Republican Donald Trump.
- Men have a higher favourability towards Donald Trump than women (36% to 20%). Coalition voters are more likely to be favourable to Trump than Labor or Greens voters (39% to 22% and 16% respectively).
US Relations Statements
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about relations with the USA?
| TOTAL: Agree | TOTAL: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | Unsure | |
| It is important for the Prime Minister to have a good relationship with the US President, whoever they might be, for the good of the nation | 72% | 18% | 36% | 36% | 12% | 6% | 10% |
| The Trump Presidency has diminished the USA’s reputation | 65% | 21% | 43% | 23% | 13% | 8% | 14% |
| The US is less relevant to Australia’s interests than it has been in the past | 54% | 31% | 19% | 35% | 22% | 9% | 15% |
| The Trump Presidency has been good for Australia | 32% | 48% | 13% | 19% | 21% | 27% | 20% |
- Regardless of the result on Tuesday, almost three-quarters of people agree that it is important for the Prime Minister to have a good relationship with the US President, whoever they might be, for the good of the nation (72%).
- 65% agree that the Trump Presidency has diminished the USA’s reputation and just 32% agree that the Trump Presidency has been good for Australia.
Importance of Relationships with Other Countries
Q. How important is it for Australia to have a close relationship with the following nations?
| Very important | Quite important | Not very important | Don’t know | Very Important April 10 | Change | ||
| United States | 56% | 34% | 5% | 4% | 59% | -3 | |
| New Zealand | 54% | 36% | 6% | 5% | 56% | -2 | |
| China | 45% | 44% | 5% | 6% | 51% | -6 | |
| United Kingdom | 44% | 43% | 9% | 4% | 46% | -2 | |
| Japan | 30% | 53% | 10% | 7% | 40% | -10 | |
| Indonesia | 30% | 48% | 15% | 7% | 39% | -9 | |
| India | 24% | 45% | 23% | 8% | 27% | -3 | |
| Germany | 15% | 43% | 34% | 9% | 18% | -3 | |
| South Africa | 12% | 35% | 43% | 10% | 12% | – |
More than half the respondents think it is very important to have close relationships with the United States (56%) and New Zealand (54%) and just under half think it is very important to have a close relationship with China (45%) and United Kingdom (44%).
A close relationship with the United Sates is considered very important by 65% of Liberal/National voters and 62% of Labor voters but only 37% of Greens voters. Greens voters consider relations with New Zealand (58%) and China (47%) more important.
Since this question was asked in April, the overall rating of the importance of relations with other countries has dropped – especially for Japan (-10%) and Indonesia (-9%).
Change in Relationships with Other Countries
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 | Get closer April 10 | Change | ||
| China | 30% | 50% | 9% | 11% | 33% | -3 | |
| New Zealand | 29% | 58% | 3% | 11% | 33% | -4 | |
| Indonesia | 23% | 49% | 15% | 13% | 30% | -7 | |
| India | 22% | 50% | 14% | 14% | 24% | -2 | |
| Japan | 21% | 58% | 8% | 13% | 24% | -3 | |
| United States | 20% | 60% | 11% | 10% | 24% | -4 | |
| United Kingdom | 20% | 63% | 7% | 10% | 24% | -4 | |
| Germany | 14% | 62% | 9% | 15% | 16% | -2 | |
| South Africa | 11% | 59% | 14% | 16% | 13% | -2 |
30% think that Australia’s relationship with China should get closer and 29% think our relationship with New Zealand should get closer.
Labor voters are most likely to favour closer relationships with China (32%) and New Zealand (29%).
Liberal/National voters are most likely to favour closer relationships with New Zealand (29%) and China (28%).
Greens voters are most likely to favour closer relationships with China (38%), Indonesia (36%) and New Zealand (36%).
Since this question was asked in April, the percentage wanting a closer relationship with Indonesia has dropped from 30% to 23%.
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In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Views towards re-electing the federal Coalition government
- Party trust to handle issues
- Importance of Australia’s international reputation
- Scott Morrison’s impact on Australia’s international reputation
- Views towards Australia’s international reputation
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