Survey, taken before revelation that Australia agreed to help Trump investigate Russia inquiry, finds voters support PM’s handling of relationship with US president

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

A majority of Australians believe Scott Morrison was wrong to snub the United Nations climate summit while on a high-profile visit to the US, but have otherwise backed the prime minister’s handling of the relationship with Donald Trump.

The latest Guardian Essential poll, taken in the wake of Morrison’s trip to the US last week, shows that most Australians believe it is important for the prime minister to have a good relationship with the US president, “whoever they might be” for the good of the nation.

While 15% of people disagreed with the statement, 77% agreed, with men and Liberal voters most likely to back a strong relationship.

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The survey of 1,097 people was taken before Tuesday’s revelation that Australia had agreed to help investigate the genesis of the Mueller inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, which Trump has suggested was a “hoax” to bring him down.

But while 57% of those surveyed agreed that Morrison had shown “good diplomacy skills” during his official visit to US, 70% said that he should have joined other world leaders in attending the UN climate summit in New York, which was attended by foreign affairs minister Marise Payne rather than Morrison.

About 40% of people strongly agreed that Morrison should have fronted up to the climate summit, with a further 31% saying they somewhat agreed.

A breakdown of voting intentions of those who believed the prime minister should have attended the summit – where Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg delivered an impassioned speech to world leaders – shows that 78% of Labor voters thought he should have shown up, compared with 64% of Coalition voters.

Morrison defended Australia’s record on climate change at a separate speech to the UN, but observers at the summit said his failure to attend despite being in the US had eroded goodwill for the country on the issue.

Voters were also asked whether a good relationship between Morrison and Trump “reflects badly” on Australia, a sentiment that 38% of people agreed with, with 48% disagreeing.

Greens voters were most likely to be critical of the relationship forged between Morrison and Trump, with 60% saying it was a bad look, compared with 27% of Coalition voters and 48% of Labor voters.

But while most people were supportive of the US alliance and Morrison’s handling of Trump, just 32% believe his presidency, which has sparked global geopolitical uncertainty, has been good for Australia, with 49% of people disagreeing.

Australia’s recent decision to assist the US in the Strait of Hormuz, in what it said would be “modest, meaningful and time-limited” commitment, was supported by 51% of those surveyed and opposed by 35%. But more people were concerned (57%) that the engagement could plunge Australia into another conflict in the near future as a result.

Liberal voters were more supportive of Australia’s engagement in the Middle East and less concerned about future conflict in the region.

The Essential poll also gauged voter sentiment on the state of the Australian economy ahead of Tuesday’s decision by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates to a record low 0.75%.

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Views were mixed, with an equal third believing the economy was in a good state (32%), poor state (33%) or neither good nor poor (32%).

Compared with May last year, more people felt the economy was in a poor state, up nine percentage points and edging closer to the December 2016 high of 36%.

Liberal voters were more likely to be positive in their assessment of the economy, with 45% saying it was in “very good” or “quite good” shape.

When asked which indicators were most important in assessing the health of the economy, most people pointed to the unemployment rate, which increased to 5.3% in August from 5.2% in the previous month, as well as the cost of household bills.

Half of those who think the national budget surplus is the best indicator for economic performance believe the economy is in a good shape, whereas those who look at household bills to gauge economic strength were the most pessimistic.