Only one-in-four Australians feel very safe and rank terrorism-related incidents as major threats to the country's security, a new poll shows.
Nearly 70 per cent say the emergence of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria will be a high risk to Australia's security in the next 10 years, the 2015 Lowy Institute Poll found.
Only 24 per cent of respondents said they felt very safe, the lowest result since polling began in 2005, and 18 points down from the 42 per cent who felt very safe in 2010.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his government was "absolutely serious" about protecting Australians.
"I want to give every single Australian this assurance: this government will do what is necessary to keep you safe," he told reporters in Canberra.
That included toughening anti-terror laws, boosting resources to police and security agencies, or sending forces to the Middle East.
Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh agreed there was a real concern amongst Australians about security.
"What has gone on in the Middle East over recent years is disturbing," he told reporters in Canberra.
It was a reminder that both major parties should put aside political point-scoring, he said.
Finding of the 2015 Lowy Institue poll
- 63 per cent of Australian residents are optimistic overall about the nation's economic performance in the world over the next five years.
- 24 per cent feel very safe.
- Terrorism-related threats rank first, second and third among potential security risks.
- 69 per cent support participation in military action against Islamic State in Iraq.
- 20 per cent see military conflict between the United States and China as a high risk.
- 50 per cent see global warming as a serious and pressing problem warranting action even at significant cost.
- 43 per cent think solar energy will be our primary source of electricity 10 years from now.
- 39 per cent think China will become a military threat to Australia in the next 20 years.
- 70 per cent say the government allows too much investment in Australian residential real estate from China.
- Abbott government policy scores: 5.9/10 for handling terrorism threat, 4.9/10 for handling asylum seeker arrivals, 4.9/10 for managing the economy and 4/10 for managing climate change.
- Feelings towards Indonesia have fallen to their equal lowest point in the past decade on the Lowy Institute feelings thermometer at 46.
- The most admired is US President Barack Obama and the least is Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 42 per cent don't know Indonesian president Joko Widodo.
SOURCE: The 2015 Lowy Institute Poll is based on a telephone survey of 1200 Australian adults between 20 February and 8 March 2015, together with four supplementary polls by Newspoll in February, April and May 2015 each with samples of 1200+ adults).
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