Coronavirus: Survey shows massive support for our government, but China and the US are on the nose

A poll conducted by the Lowy Institute surveying attitudes towards the coronavirus found the crisis had stripped the gloss off both the US and China.

A Lowy Institute poll found that 90 per cent of Australians felt the Trump administration had handled the crisis either badly or very badly. Picture: AP

Australian attitudes towards the Chinese Communist Party have plummeted, with more than two-thirds of Australians saying they now feel less favourable towards China’s system of government ­following its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A poll conducted by the Lowy Institute surveying attitudes towards the coronavirus found the crisis had stripped the gloss off both the US and China, with a ­majority of Australians believing both had badly mishandled the public health emergency.

The poll found that 90 per cent of Australians felt the Trump administration had handled the crisis either badly or very badly, while 69 per cent felt the Chinese government had done the same.

The survey is the most comprehensive study of Australian attitudes about the coronavirus taken so far. It surveyed 3036 people ­between April 14 and 27, when the crisis was at its most dire.

It found that while Australians took a dim view of the way other countries had handled the crisis, they were supportive of decisions taken by their own government.

It also seems the wave of ­isolationism that has swept the world as the crisis unfolded ­appears to have stopped at Australia’s shores, with 70 per cent of respondents ­declaring globalisation — a concept thought to be on its knees — to be good for Australia and 53 per cent calling for ­enhanced global co-operation.

“Despite borders going up and globalisation grinding to a halt, Australians remain outward-­looking,’’ Lowy Institute research fellow and author of the poll ­Natasha Kassam said. “Australians have been resistant to trends of protectionism and populisms and that remains unchanged.’’

Most Australians are happy to get on a plane, with 59 per cent ­reporting they would be willing to travel once the crisis is over. More than a third, however, said they would be less likely to travel.

The poll found Australians believed both the US and China would emerge from the crisis dimin­ished, with 53 per cent of Australians predicting the US would have less power and 27 per cent saying the same of China.

The CCP was also unpopular, with 68 per cent of Australians recording they now felt “less favourable’’ towards China’s system of government as a result of its handling of the pandemic.

Chinese authorities have come under heavy criticism over their early handling of the COVID-19 crisis amid accusations they suppressed vital information about the scale and severity of the virus.

The source of the coronavirus, believed to be a wet market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has also become a point of geopolitical tension, with the Trump administration accusing Beijing of covering up the disease.

Ms Kassam said the finding was an endorsement of liberal democracies. “I think there was early scepticism that countries like Australia would be able to marshal resources and contain a virus of this nature,’’ she said. “Clearly, the response by countries like Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan have demonstrated that’s not the case.’’

Australians were overwhelmingly approving of their own government’s response, with 93 per cent of respondents saying the government had handled the crisis well or very well.

Ms Kassam said it was very rare to see numbers that high.

Just 59 per cent of respondents declared confidence in the World Health Organisation, which has been criticised for parroting the Chinese government’s tone.