2013 Lowy Institute Poll: 38% of Australians think Australia should spend more on defence

Ahead of Tuesday’s Federal Budget, the Lowy Institute has released poll data that shows 38% of Australians believe the government should spend more on defence.

The results are taken from the Lowy Institute’s forthcoming 2013 Australia and the World Poll. The Poll also found that 47% of Australians believe ‘the government is spending about the right amount on defence’, while around one in eight (12%) say the government should spend less.    

‘As the Government releases its budget this week, the result provides a unique insight into Australians’ attitudes towards defence spending.  It shows that the vast majority of Australians either think we should spend more on defence, or that we spend about the right amount. Few think the government should spend less’, said Dr Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute.

‘This finding on defence spending is just one of the interesting results from the 2013 Poll on Australian attitudes toward a range of international policy issues.  The full poll results will be released in June’, said Alex Oliver, acting Director of the Lowy Institute Poll.

Fieldwork for the Lowy Institute 2013 Australia and the World Poll was completed in March 2013.

The 2013 Lowy Institute Poll reports the results of a nationally representative opinion survey of 1,002 Australian adults by telephone between 4 March and 20 March 2013. It is the ninth annual Lowy Poll.