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Free trade and globalisationFree trade and globalisation
About the author
Natasha Kassam
Natasha Kassam was Director of the Lowy Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program from 2019 to 2022, directing the annual Lowy Institute Poll and researching China’s politics, Taiwan, and Australia-China relations.
While the public conversation about free trade has soured in a number of comparable countries, Australian support for free trade continues to rise. Three-quarters of Australians (75%, up eight points since 2017) say free trade is good for their own standard of living, and 71% agree free trade is good for the Australian economy. A solid majority say free trade is good for Australian companies (65%) and creating jobs in Australia (61%, up six points).
Against these positive attitudes about free trade, globalisation has fallen marginally in favour. In 2019, 72% of Australians say globalisation is ‘mostly good’, down six points from 2017. This marks a return to 2008 levels, but is still higher than the 64% who gave this response in 2006. Lower income earners are less inclined to favour globalisation, with 67% saying globalisation is ‘mostly good’, compared with 86% of the highest income earners.
