Newspoll Poll backs Morrison’s coronavirus inquiry call

Australians have overwhelmingly slammed the handling of the pandemic by Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO

Australians have overwhelmingly slammed the handling of the coronavirus pandemic by Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, and backed Scott Morrison’s spearheading of a global independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, as China ramped up its intimidation campaign against Canberra.

Amid escalating tensions with Beijing, after Chinese officials told citizens to stay away from Australia due to a “significant increase” in racism, a special Newspoll showed 79 per cent of voters supported the Morrison government’s pursuit of a coronavirus investigation.

The poll, conducted between last Wednesday and Saturday, revealed 87 per cent of Coalition voters endorsed the Prime Minister’s position on an independent inquiry against fears of antagonising China.

The survey of 1512 Australians showed 59 per cent supported prioritising relations with the US ahead of China, with only 29 per cent — dominated by Greens voters — pushing to cement closer ties with Beijing.

Support for the US alliance coincided with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ramping up attacks against China’s “lust for power” and “scorn for law”.

The strong backing of Mr Morrison’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic came as the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a travel warning to Australia in response to disputed claims of racist attacks on “Chinese and Asian people”.

The travel warning issued over the weekend, which sparked concerns in the tourism and higher education sectors, is being viewed as a continuation of Beijing’s retaliation against Canberra following previous moves to slap tariffs on Australian barley and suspending meat exporters.

PDF of full Newspoll results

Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson, who represents the nation’s top universities, said she was “surprised” by the statement because they had no reports of “any particular issues with our students who are here on our campuses”.

Ms Thomson said the Group of Eight would write to the Chinese embassy seeking clarity on the statement and asking for examples of racist or violent behaviour towards Chinese visitors.

The Newspoll also revealed a majority of Australians believed the US and Chinese presidents had been equally culpable in their mishandling of the crisis.

Almost 80 per cent of Australians — across Coalition, Labor and Greens voters — expressed a negative view of Mr Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 72 per cent expressed the same view of Mr Xi’s handling of the virus outbreak.

Despite the dim view of Mr Trump and the riots in the US, Australians have remained steadfast in their belief that the strategic relationship with the US should be prioritised over the trade relationship with China.

The same poll taken last September ranked the importance of the US relationship at 56 per cent ahead of China at 25 per cent.

Newspoll also showed the UN was regarded poorly, with only 23 per cent of voters believing the body had been a positive force in responding to the outbreak.

Opinion of the World Health Organisation, which has been regarded by many countries as having failed in its initial response to the outbreak in China, were mixed with 34 per cent agreeing that it had a positive impact, 32 per cent claiming it had a negative impact and 27 per cent believing it had little or no impact at all.

The travel warning issued by China came despite almost one-in-two Chinese visitors travelling to Australia in 2019 to see family, study or conduct business and blanket COVID-19 border bans remaining in place.

Despite China’s recent moves against Australian exports, The Australian understands trade -between the nations continues to surge ahead, with resources and premium products still in high demand.

Tourism Research Australia data shows 1.3m Chinese visitors travelled to Australia last year, spending an average $9336 per trip, with a combined spend of $12.4bn.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive tourism chair John Hart said the Chinese travel warnings were “obviously very concerning”. “Even though we are in a position where our borders are closed, they will be reopening at some stage and we will want the Chinese visitors back,” Mr Hart said.

“I’m not sure the threat is as big as the way it has been made out. I’m sure that the person-to-person relationships and the desire of potential Chinese visitors themselves, rather than the government’s directive — that is what will bring back our visitation from China once this is over.”

Ms Thomson said the higher education sector maintained that “Australia remains a safe and secure place and our universities remain a very safe place for students studying at the moment”.

Mr Hart said it was imperative to put “all our efforts in keeping our relationships with, particularly tourism distributors in China and the Chinese airlines, strong so when it comes time to rebuild it’s those relationships we’ll rebuild upon”.

As Australia continues to carefully navigate its relationship with Beijing, US-China relations deteriorated over the weekend, after Mr Pompeo issued a scathing statement, pushing back against the Communist Party of China’s “exploitation of the tragic death of George Floyd to justify its authoritarian denial of basic human dignity”.

“As with dictatorships throughout history, no lie is too obscene, so long as it serves the party’s lust for power,” the US Secretary of State said.

Mr Pompeo accused the communist party of assaulting, clubbing, muzzling journalists and doctors, making people “disappear”, jailing protesters and lying about its COVID-19 deaths and cases. “Beijing in recent days has showcased its continuing contempt for the truth and scorn for law,” he said.

Additional reporting: Joe Kelly