The US alliance
Over the history of the Lowy Institute Poll, Australians have consistently expressed support for the US alliance. In 2011 and 2015, a large majority agreed that ‘Australians and Americans share many common values and ideals [and] a strong alliance is a natural extension of this’. The 2019 results reinforce these findings, with 73% (a marginal four-point drop since 2015) saying that the US alliance is a natural extension of our shared values and ideals. The same number (73%) agree the ‘United States would come to Australia’s defence if Australia was under threat’.
# Note change in mode. See 2024 Methodology.
However, low levels of confidence in US President Donald Trump may have had some impact on Australian support for the alliance. Most (72%) of the population still say the US alliance is either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ important for Australia’s security, a four-point drop from 2018. This result remains nine points higher than the low point of 63% in 2007, during the presidency of George W Bush. However, the proportion of Australians saying the alliance is ‘very important’ has dropped ten points to 38%, while the number of those who say it is ‘fairly important’ has increased six points to 34%.
A majority of Australians (56%) say that the alliance relationship with the United States makes Australia safer from attack or pressure from China, a result which is unchanged from 2011.
Indicates change in mode: see 2024 Methodology.
Still, Australians may be wary of the potential costs of the alliance as China’s role shifts in our region. Almost half (46%) agree that the United States is ‘in decline relative to China and so the alliance is of decreasing importance’, a five-point increase from 2011. A sizeable majority of Australians (69%) say that ‘Australia’s alliance with the United States makes it more likely Australia will be drawn into a war in Asia that would not be in Australia’s interests’, an increase of 11 points from 2015 but not as high as the peak of that sentiment in 2011 (73%). A clear majority (66%) agree that Donald Trump has weakened Australia’s alliance with the United States, and young Australians (aged 18–29 years) in particular hold this view (78%).