Since it began in 2005, the Lowy Institute Poll of Australians' attitudes to the world has never been so bleak.
Trade turmoil and ongoing cost-of-living pressures were having a negative impact on household confidence even before President Donald Trump's "liberation day" tariffs were announced on April 2, after the survey had been in the field.
A little over half of respondents (52 per cent) said they were optimistic about Australia's economic performance over the next five years, the least since the poll began in 2005 and in line with attitudes during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Young Australians aged 18-29 felt the least optimistic about the economy, while Labor voters were more confident than Liberal and Greens-voting counterparts.
Feelings of pessimism reflected a precarious moment, with the world order that had served Australia's interests well since the end of World War II beset on all sides, said Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove.
"Australians are clearly unsettled by what they've seen of the second Trump administration, with almost two-thirds (64 per cent) now holding little to no trust in the United States to act responsibly - the lowest level in the history of the Lowy Institute Poll," said Dr Fullilove.
But Australians are even less trusting of China - the nation's largest trading partner - as military tensions over the fate of Taiwan ramp up.
Only 16 per cent of respondents had confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping to do the right thing, compared to a quarter who had confidence in Mr Trump.
Ongoing distrust in China, which conducted navy live-fire drills off Australian waters shortly before the poll was conducted, was contributing to sustained belief in the importance of the Australia-US alliance, despite distrust in Mr Trump, Dr Fullilove said.
Amid rising authoritarianism around the globe, Australians have never been more firm in their support for democracy, with 74 per cent believing it is preferable to any other kind of government.
"Australians lean towards co-operation," Dr Fullilove said.
"They feel most comfortable with fellow liberal democracies such as Japan and New Zealand, but remain circumspect towards two regional powers, India and Indonesia."
Overwhelmingly Australians were in favour of making more goods in Australia, even if they cost more (83 per cent), and distrustful of social media's impact on democracy (70 per cent).
Those figures will be encouraging for the federal government and its flagship policies to ban children from using social media and promote domestic manufacturing.
The poll was conducted on behalf of the Lowy Institute by the Social Research Centre, which surveyed 2117 Australian residents aged 18 and above between March 3 and 16.
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