A recent poll has found that more than two-thirds (67 per cent) of NSW men between ages 40 to 49 felt that Australia did not stand up enough to Indonesia in its dealings.
And overall, the poll found that 58 per cent of Australians believe our government should stand up to Indonesia more often. In contrast, 31 per cent said we are strong enough.
Younger Australians are significantly more likely to perceive Indonesia positively, the poll found. 62 per cent of people aged 18 to 29 held a positive opinion of Indonesia and only 16 per cent negative.
Older Australians were more likely to hold negative perceptions of Indonesia; however, they still regarded the relationship as important.
Of those aged 40 to 49, 37 per cent held a positive opinion of Indonesia and 43 per cent negative, yet 81 per cent said that Indonesia was important to Australia. Of people over 60, only 29 per cent were positive and 50 per cent negative, with 76 per cent seeing it as important.
In addition, it found that 92 per cent of Australians saw China and the United States as “important” to Australia with the United Kingdom at 90 per cent ahead of Indonesia at 83 per cent.
Australian women were also more sympathetic towards the United Kingdom than Australian men with 58 per cent saying the British Isles are “very important” compared to 37 per cent, respectively.
These are some of the findings of a poll, conducted by UMR Research for Hawker Britton – a Labor aligned public affairs firm.
These results come as Prime Minister John Howard holds discussions with Indonesia over off-shore detention and West Papua.
The poll indicates that the majority of Australian’s support a closer engagement with Indonesia. Over a third of respondents believe that Australia’s relationship with Indonesia should be closer than it now is.
Hawker Britton managing director, Mr Bruce Hawker said the results were interesting and reflected that younger Australians had probably visited Indonesia more than their parents and grandparents.
“However, there was a concern that the Australian governments are failing to express our concerns strongly enough to the Indonesians,” Mr Hawker said.
“The results also demonstrate that Australians understand the importance of developing and maintaining an effective relationship with Indonesia, but they strongly object to any suggestion that Indonesian should dictate Australian policy.”
