A growing number of Australians are becoming attracted to the idea of having an authoritarian leader who can avoid elections and parliament, with the phenomenon strongest among younger voters.

A new study, conducted by the Australian National University’s centre for social research and methods, found 33% of Australians now rate having an authoritarian-style leader as being “very good” or “fairly good”.

In 2005, just 24% of Australians were favourably disposed towards the idea, which rose to 28% in 2012.

The survey of more than 1,800 Australians, aged 18 years and over, conducted between April and August, found the rise in support for the idea of a “strongman” was also stronger among Australians under the age of 35.

Illustration: Australian National University

Baby boomers – born in the aftermath of the second world war and now mostly aged 60 or above – were the most likely to view it is a “very bad” system.

“Australians aged 50 and older overwhelmingly think such a system is a bad idea, but young people are more supportive,” lead researcher Dr Jill Sheppard said.

The report, the Australian Values Study 2018, was released on Wednesday. It found confidence in political parties, the press and national institutions was continuing to drop in Australia, as in other liberal democratic countries.

It also appears to show much confusion about democracy.

The survey shows confidence in political parties hit a new low this year, with 27% of respondents saying they had “no confidence at all”, and 63% saying “not very much”.

Illustration: Australian National University

But a larger number of Australians still have confidence in the federal government. About half the population regularly reports having “not very much” confidence in the federal government, but only one in five (19%) have expressed “no confidence at all” in the government, a figure that’s been largely stable over time.

There has also been no change, between 2005 and 2018, in the proportion of Australians who think having a democratic political system is a good idea.

Since 2005, 58% of voters have viewed democracy as a “very good” idea, and 32% a “fairly good” idea, with the remaining 10% feeling it is “fairly bad” or “very bad”. Those figures haven’t changed in the past 13 years.

Australians aged 50 and older overwhelmingly think such a system is a bad idea. Dr Jill Sheppard, lead researcher

And Australians have quite high rates of confidence in the administration of elections. Asked for the first time in 2018, 15% said they had “a great deal” of confidence, and a further 44% “quite a lot” of confidence in our electoral processes. Only 9% had “none at all” and 32% said “not very much”.

“Trust in an honest, accountable electoral administration is fundamental to a well-functioning democracy,” the report says.

The survey found Australia’s media have taken a hit as well, with 25% of people reporting they have no confidence at all in the press, compared to 22% in 2012.

“Confidence in the media is falling,” Sheppard said. “This trend is strongest amongst young people in Australia and I suspect that’s a reflection of established media outlets failing to cater to young and emerging audiences.”

Religion is also on the decline with a survey record of 20% of Australians describing themselves as atheist, compared to just 5% in 1995.