Australians regard Tony Abbott as the poorest foreign policy prime minister in recent history but back the Coalition to manage the country’s national security, economy and relationships with China and the US, according to new research.
The annual Lowy Institute poll has found Australians prefer the Coalition over Labor to handle the US alliance (by 32%), national security (24%), economic management (22%) and foreign investment (17%). Labor leads on the issue of responding to climate change, the choice of more than half the 1,202 people polled.
Turning back boats continues to enjoy strong support among voters, 63% agreeing the controversial measure meant “Australia can take in more refugees through UN processes”.
An even greater 65% disagreed that Christians and other religions should be favoured over Muslim refugees, and the majority backed the Abbott government’s decision in September to settle 12,000 displaced Syrians.
Just 46% thought Abbott himself had done a “very good or reasonable job” handling Australia’s foreign policy, behind former prime ministers Julia Gillard (58%), Paul Keating (66%), Malcolm Turnbull (68%), Bob Hawke (68%), Kevin Rudd (69%) and John Howard (82%).
Optimism about the economy is up seven points in the past year to 70% and domestic violence was ranked the third most important issue facing Australians, behind education and health.
Rudd continued to be divisive – 46% believe he would make a good United Nations secretary general, while 49% think otherwise.
Feelings towards Indonesia improved after a frosty 2015 that included the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, while Australians ranked the US and China as equally important for the first time in the poll’s 12-year history.
The number who who agreed “global warming is a serious and pressing problem [and] we should begin taking steps now even if this involves significant costs” surged to over half, a 17% increase since 2012.
As in past years, nearly one-quarter agreed “in some circumstances, a non-democratic government can be preferable”.
