For the first time in the history of the Poll, climate change topped the
list of threats to Australia’s vital interests in 2019, alongside
cyberattacks, international terrorism and North Korea’s nuclear program.
The number of Australians saying climate change is a critical threat (64%)
has increased by six points since last year (and 18 points since 2014).
Younger Australians are more concerned about climate change: 83% of 18–29
year olds say that climate change is a critical threat compared with 59%
of those aged 30 and over.
The potential threat of cyberattacks has been a growing concern since
2014. The proportion of Australians who see cyberattacks as a critical
threat to Australia’s vital interests has risen five points this year to
62%, an increase of 11 points since 2014.
International terrorism (61%) and North Korea’s nuclear program (60%)
continue to be of significant concern, although slightly more Australians
saw these threats as critical in 2018. A majority (55%) see ‘China
open[ing] a military base in a Pacific Island country’ as a critical
threat. The prospect of a global economic downturn continues to cause
concern, with 51% seeing it as a critical threat, a result unchanged from
2018.
Concern about foreign interference in Australian politics has increased,
with 49% saying it is a critical threat, up eight points from 2018.
Despite having had five prime ministers in just over five years, a
minority (43%) say ‘frequent changes in Australia’s political leadership’
is a critical threat.
Lower ranked are the threats posed by foreign investment in Australia (39%
saying ‘critical threat’) and ‘large numbers of immigrants and refugees
coming to Australia’ (36%, unchanged from 2018).
Along with climate change, many of these threats are perceived quite
differently by younger Australians. Only 11% of 18–29-year-old Australians
see large numbers of immigrants and refugees as a critical threat,
compared with 42% of those aged over 30. Similarly, international
terrorism is less of a concern for younger Australians, with only 42% of
18–29 year olds compared with 66% of those over 30 seeing it as a critical
threat. The same generational difference exists for cyberattacks (47:66),
North Korea’s nuclear program (41:65) and China opening a military base in
the Pacific (36:60).