Fewer than one in 10 Australians believe our country shares fundamental values with the US under President Donald Trump.
And at least half believe Trump’s election was bad for Australia, for the US, and for the world.
A new poll conducted by YouGov for the Australia Institute found that just 8 per cent of Australians said they “strongly agreed” with Defence Minister Richard Marles’ comments earlier this year that Australia and the US shared values such as “democracy and the rule of law”.
Australians broadly disagree that the country shares values with Trump’s America. (AP)
And 48 per cent of Australians feel that the country is less secure since Trump’s election, compared to 13 per cent who felt it was more secure and 31 per cent who thought it was unchanged.
Results were more even, however, when it came to perceptions of the US’s reliability as a security partner, with 44 per cent saying the US remained a reliable ally, and 47 per cent disagreeing.
While the largest proportion of Australians – 46 per cent – think the AUKUS agreement makes Australia safer and 41 per cent say it’s in Australia’s best interests (compared to 26 per cent who disagree and 33 per cent who are unsure), a majority would still support a parliamentary inquiry into the deal.
Many Australians would support an AUKUS inquiry. (9News)
Neither Trump, current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, nor current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, helped orchestrate the trilateral agreement, but it has broadly retained bipartisan support from politicians in all three countries.
The polling also revealed half of Australians think the US is less democratic under Trump, and half would feel unsafe travelling there.
“Australians are deeply concerned about what is happening in the United States today – so concerned, in fact, that half of us would feel unsafe travelling there,” Australia Institute international and security affairs program director Dr Emma Shortis said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Donald Trump at the White House. (AP)
“Australians are often told that we “share values” with the United States. These numbers suggest that Australians are far from convinced that we share values with Donald Trump’s America.”
The polling was conducted between October 27 and October 30, after Albanese’s widely-reported first face-to-face meeting with the mercurial Trump in the White House.
That meeting has been largely hailed a success, particularly compared to some of Trump’s encounters with allies.