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Defending allies

New in 2026

In 2026, 79% say Australia should go to the defence of Papua New Guinea if it were attacked by another country.

Question Defending allies

Now thinking about how Australia might respond if one of its allies were attacked by another country. For each of the following allies, do you think Australia should or should not go to its defence if it were attacked by another country?

  1. 0%
  2. 25%
  3. 50%
  4. 75%
  5. 100%
New Zealand
94
5
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Papua New Guinea
79
19
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United Kingdom
74
24
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Japan
66
31
3
Indonesia
60
38
3
Philippines
57
40
3
United States
55
43
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  • Yes
  • No
  • Don’t know
Total
All groups

2026 observation

In this year’s Poll, we asked whether Australia should come to the defence of some of its key allies if they were under attack by another country. More than nine in ten Australians (94%) say Australia should come to New Zealand’s defence. Eight in ten (79%) say Australia should come to Papua New Guinea’s defence. Three-quarters of Australians (74%) say we should come to the defence of the United Kingdom.

Firm majorities of Australians say they would support coming to the defence of Japan (66%), Indonesia (60%), the Philippines (57%), and the United States (55%). A significant minority of Australians (43%) say they would not support Australia coming to the defence of the United States.