More Australians anxious over immigration amid push to ban Gaza war refugees, new poll shows

More Australians view opposition leader Peter Dutton’s stance on banning Gaza refugees as a necessary national security measure rather than a political ploy, a new poll has shown, underscoring the growing public anxiety over immigration and its impact on national unity.

The latest Essential poll, which was released on Tuesday and focused mainly on Dutton’s refugee ban and immigration, found that 54 per cent of Australians believed the opposition leader “genuinely cares about national security” while 46 per cent said “he is more interested in driving division for political purposes”.

The poll also found that around 44 per cent of respondents supported a pause on Palestinian refugee arrivals, while 30 per cent were opposed and 26 per cent were undecided.

About 37 per cent of respondents said Australia was a racist country, a similar number to the same poll five years ago, while four in 10 agreed that Australians from an Anglo or a European background enjoyed “a privileged position in our society”.

At the same time, attitudes towards immigration have worsened, with more Australians – about 42 per cent of those surveyed – saying it is a negative for Australia. That is a significant increase over the 35 per cent who thought it was a negative five years ago.

Immigration’s biggest negative impact is pushing up house prices, according to 69 per cent of respondents, much more than the 51 per cent who thought immigrants were taking jobs.

The high cost of living – which includes steep house prices – remains a key concern among Australians, according to new findings released on Tuesday by another pollster, Roy Morgan.

As Dutton sought legal advice over being labelled a racist by independent minister Zali Steggall, other observers said he