Poll on Palestine recognition

A polling survey conducted by The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that 44 per cent of voters do not support changing Australia’s current position of not recognising Palestine.

Thirty-two per cent of respondents said they believed Australia should wait until Hamas was removed from power and/or when Palestine recognises Israel’s right to exist before recognising a Palestinian state, while 24 per cent said they supported the proposition that “Australia should recognise Palestine in September’s UN meeting regardless of who is in power”.

The poll was conducted between August 11 and 16 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

During his announcement, Albanese said he had received assurances from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he would hold elections soon and exclude Hamas from Palestinian governance structures. Abbas is in the 20th year of his four-year term.

Hamas – a designated terrorist organisation in Australia – has praised Australia’s “political courage”, which Albanese dismissed as “propaganda”.

The Resolve poll of 1800 respondents found that only 25 per cent of Australians believe the country’s decision to recognise Palestine would likely or definitely influence the situation in the Middle East.

In contrast, 36 per cent said such recognition would probably or definitely have no effect, while 40 per cent were uncertain.

“Australians don’t necessarily disagree with recognising Palestine, but there is a desire to at least get them into a more stable position first,” Resolve pollster Jim Reed told The SMH.

“That is, statehood should be about them, not predicated on the actions of their neighbour.

“The feedback is that this move is largely symbolic, which is not to devalue the power of symbols. But in this case, people don’t think Australia’s actions will make much, if any, difference on the ground in Gaza.”

Only 14 per cent of respondents expressed support for imposing standalone trade or financial sanctions on Israel – a central demand of pro-Palestinian advocates. Meanwhile, 50 per cent said they opposed sanctions against any party involved in the conflict.

After the pro-Palestinian march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, 51 per cent of respondents said they believed rallies by local supporters of either Israel or Palestine should not be permitted.

Additionally, 64 per cent said they opposed local councils displaying either the Israeli or Palestinian flags.