Australians are more concerned about terrorism and cyberattacks than war: new research

Per The Conversation, new research from UNSW Sydney reveals a disconnect between what Australian politicians prioritize and what the public actually fears. A survey of fifteen hundred twenty-nine Australians conducted in January found terrorism and cyberattacks ranked as the nation's top security threats — cited by roughly a third and nearly thirty percent of respondents — well above great power conflict, which dominates political debate. The timing is instructive: the survey came just weeks after the Bondi terrorist attack, when nearly half of Australians had experienced cyber-crime in the previous year. But the most striking shift is in alliance attitudes. Support for working closely with the United States dropped from seventy-five percent last year to fifty-four percent in twenty twenty-six. For policymakers pushing initiatives like AUKUS, that represents a fundamental challenge in building public support for strategic decisions.

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