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Donald Trump erodes Australian trust in US: poll

Australians are more distrustful than ever of the United States' ability to act responsibly, a new poll shows.

Australians are more distrustful than ever of the United States' ability to act responsibly, a new poll shows. Photo: Getty

Donald Trump’s reign has seen Australian trust in the US drop to its lowest level in more than a decade.

A new poll from the Lowy Institute found just 55 per cent of Australians trust the US to “act responsibly in the world”.

That figure has dived 28 points since 2011 and is the lowest number since Lowy started asking the question in 2006.

The poll of 1200 adults was run in March and examined Australians’ attitudes towards the world.

President Trump is also well behind other world leaders in Australians’ trust, with less than a third having “a lot” or “some” confidence he will do the right thing in world affairs.

Britain’s Theresa May, Japan’s Shinzo Abe, Malcolm Turnbull and France’s Emmanuel Macron have at least double Mr Trump’s 30 per cent trust score.

“There is no question that Donald Trump’s presidency has eroded Australians’ trust and confidence in the United States as a responsible global actor. That trust has fallen to its lowest point in the poll’s history,” the poll’s report said.

“Yet, despite concerns about the current occupant of the White House, Australians’ support for the US alliance has held firm.”

More than 75 per cent of Australians say the nation should remain close to the US and even those who don’t trust Mr Trump said the US alliance was important to Australia.

Two-thirds of Australians say terrorism and North Korea’s nuclear program are Australia’s biggest threats in the next 10 years, while climate change ranks third.

Four in 10 Australians also see Mr Trump’s presidency as a “critical threat” to Australia’s national interest.

The poll comes as a majority of Australians now believe the level of migration is too high.

As part of the Lowy Institute’s annual poll on attitudes towards foreign affairs, it found opposition to the rate of immigration has shot up 14 points since last year to 54 per cent.

It found 30 per cent believed the migration rate was about right and 14 per cent considered it too low.

However, 41 per cent believe if Australia is too open to migrants, the country risks losing its national identity.

Younger people were more likely than those aged over 45 to argue the country’s openness to migrants was essential.

The poll also found almost three-quarters of Australians think we’re allowing too much Chinese investment, while almost half think the Asian nation will be a military threat within 20 years.

It found a sharp rise in the proportion of the Australian population who say the Australian government is “allowing too much investment from China”.

The poll found 72 per cent of people held that view, up from 56 per cent in 2014.

It also said 82 per cent of Australians believe China is more of an economic partner than a threat.

-AAP

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