Most Australians support global engagement over national self-interest, exclusive research for the ABC's Q+A reveals, but are concerned about four more years of either Joe Biden or Donald Trump ruling the United States.
The latest Q+A/YouGov poll also shows clear division on Australia's ongoing support for Ukraine, but overwhelming support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Hamas and Israeli leaders for war crimes.
The survey of 1,510 Australians is the first real sense of what Australians think of the ongoing Middle East conflict and the decision by the ICC last week to seek arrest warrants for leaders of both the terrorist group Hamas and the Israeli government.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called allegations of crimes by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "libellous" and "outrageous", joining condemnation from leaders of the UK and US.
But just two in 10 Australians (21 per cent) agree, with the vast majority (79 per cent) backing the government's language that the ICC should be supported for investigating both sides of the conflict.
Coalition voters were less supportive of the ICC, but a clear majority (64 per cent) still backed its role.
Two-thirds of Australians would even welcome the arrest of Mr Netanyahu if he was on our soil and the evidence warranted it.
That view was particularly popular among younger and Labor voters (75 per cent), but still held by almost half (47 per cent) of Coalition supporters.
Support for the ICC aligns with a view held by a slim majority of Australians (56 per cent) that we should "play a leading role in global institutions aimed at strengthening and defending democracy and human rights".
Alternatively, 44 per cent agreed with the statement we should only join groups and alliances "where it advances our national interests".
Australians divided on Ukraine aid
Providing aid and military support for Ukraine's war effort against Russia has bipartisan support among politicians, but their constituents are sharply more divided.
Asked if support should continue, or be wound back to prioritise domestic issues, Australians were evenly split.
The government pledged a further $31 million to Ukraine on Friday for energy and humanitarian needs, taking Australia's total contribution to more than $1 billion.
Asked on Q+A a fortnight ago to justify the spending while Australians are struggling with the cost of living, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Russia was "a threat to order and the sorts of things that we hold dear as Australians".
"I am personally proud to be making a contribution to their effort, but not at the expense of all of the things that we are doing at home to make life easier for Australians," he said.
Concern for Biden and Trump
Like many Americans, the Q+A/YouGov survey shows Australians are also worried about the leadership of the US whatever the result in November's election.
Even before Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, became a convicted felon on Friday, six in 10 Australians were "concerned" about the 77-year-old returning to the White House.
Trump, who leads US polls nationally and in key swing states, was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment made to p*rn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign.
But about half of Australians are also concerned about re-electing Mr Biden, the 81-year-old Democrat, whose age and mental acuity have been in question during his first term.
Any concern for Trump's more isolationist ideas doesn't translate to widespread worry for Australia's alliance with the US.
About 60 per cent of Australians have faith the US will remain fundamental to our defence and national security, while 40 per cent worry Trump will be an unreliable ally and require Australia to develop a more independent security capacity.
Australians aged 65+ (70 per cent) and Coalition voters (73 per cent) are more likely to believe in the enduring power of the alliance, while concern for the candidates aligns with political views.
Trump hasn't publicly endorsed AUKUS, the military pact between the US and UK to deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, but former prime minister Scott Morrison said it received "a warm reception" when he raised it with the former president in a meeting last month.
Australians want Assange free
Trump has also offered an informal endorsem*nt of freeing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a position the Q+A/YouGov poll shows is backed by a majority of Australians.
A large majority — 71 per cent — say the US and UK should be pressured to close Mr Assange's case. Less than 30 per cent want him extradited and tried in the US.
In an interview last week, Trump said if he won the presidency he would give "very serious consideration" to pardoning Mr Assange, who is appealing extradition on charges of obtaining, receiving and disclosing classified information.
Jennifer Robinson, counsel to Mr Assange, joins Q+A Monday night to discuss global conflict and diplomacy, along with former Republican White House staffer Kim Hoggard, ex-BBC correspondent Nick Bryant and political strategist Parnell Palme McGuinness.
Q+A has partnered with YouGov — a global research, data and analytics group — to capture what Australians think on key areas of policy and debate.
The latest survey, conducted online on May 24-30, was weighted to reflect demographics and past voting patterns for a politically representative sample.
Respondents chose from "blind" statements not attributed to parties or politicians to limit partisanship in the results.
*Watch Q+A Monday night at 9:50pm on ABC TV and iview
