Originally published: The Australian, 17 September 2021
Scott Morrison’s decision to get nuclear submarines as part of a new US-UK alliance has received overwhelming public support amid a surge in positive responses to both nuclear submarines and energy.
In six months, public backing for Australia having nuclear submarines has almost doubled from just 38 per cent in March to 73 per cent after the Prime Minister’s announcement of the new deal on Thursday.
Public attitudes towards nuclear energy have also become markedly more positive since March, with support for considering Australian nuclear energy going from just over half in March – 55 per cent – to 70 per cent after the announcement.
Support for both the nuclear submarines and nuclear energy is strongest among Coalition voters, with 87 per cent supporting the submarine deal and 83 per cent backing the idea of considering nuclear energy.
But more than two-thirds of ALP voters also support both proposals, 69 per cent and 72 per cent respectively, according to a Compass poll of 1110 people taken for the Menzies Research Centre on Thursday.
The survey was commissioned by Compass Polling and conducted by global data and insights business, Pureprofile.
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