Voters distrust China, back ally

Private Labor polling ahead of the party’s state conference reveals the extent of distrust towards China, particularly among women.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China at Tiananmen Square this year. Picture: Reuters

Most voters in three marginal western Sydney electorates have a strong distrust of China but overwhelmingly back Aust­ralia’s alliance with the US, according to private polling commissioned by NSW Labor MPs ahead of the party’s state conference.

The survey of 1200 residents found 67 per cent opposed ending the US alliance, including 70 per cent of people in the outer-Sydney seat of Macquarie held by Labor MP Susan Templeman.

The polling, conducted by RedBridge Group, was released amid growing division within the ALP over support for the federal government scrapping a $90bn submarine contract with France in favour of a diplomatic agreement with the US and Britain.

The survey showed 73.4 per cent of people did not trust China and did not think it was a peaceful country with similar ambitions to Australia, with women – 74 per cent – recording higher levels of distrust than 72 per cent of men.

Of those surveyed, 76.1 per cent believed Australia’s relationship was too heavily biased towards China or needed improvement, while 74.9 per cent of people felt Australia needed to exercise greater self-reliance in the relationship. More than 11 per cent said Australia should have no trade relationship with the country.

“It is clear that support for the alliance is grounded in the deep suspicion of China and their worries that Australia is too reliant on China when it comes to trade links,” said Kosmos Samaras, RedBridge Group director of strategy and campaigns.

NSW Labor’s conference will be held on October 9 and 10 at Sydney Town Hall. Polling was conducted ahead of the conference to draw attention to the party’s policy positions on Israel and the broader Middle East. It was commissioned by Labor-aligned supporters of Israel.

During the ALP’s national conference in March the party voted for the first time to recognise a state of Palestine in a motion moved by Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong. The motion urged a two-state solution but also called for the next Labor government to “recognise Palestine as a state”.

During the same conference the party also increased its rhetoric against China over its oppression of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region, but stopped short of branding it genocide.

The RedBridge polling found that, in relation to Israel, 72 per cent of people were opposed or unsure about trade sanctions against the Jewish state. Women recorded the strongest support for Israel, with 50 per cent opposing sanctions; about 28 per cent of people registered their support for sanctions.

A senior NSW Right Labor figure said the polling showed clear support for the US and Israel in Australia, particularly in western Sydney.

“I’m not surprised, actually. There is a clear silent majority; unfortunately we only hear the views of the vocal fringe. Let’s hope this independent survey leads to informed and reasoned debate at the state and national levels in Australia.”

Polling was conducted by telephone between September 16 and 19.