Eight in 10 Australian voters – and 90% of One Nation supporters – have concerns about radical Islamic extremism, according to a new poll.
The Pulse/YouGov poll, conducted between October 13 and 20 for News24.com.au, found that 62% believe radical Islamic extremism is a “growing concern for national security and social cohesion”, and another 17% think it is a “minor or localised”, but still a concern.
Of the remainder, 9% said “I am not concerned by the issue of radical Islamic extremism”, and 12% said they were unsure or didn’t know.
Among One Nation voters, 85% said radical Islamic extremism was a growing concern, 5% said it was a minor concern, and 4% said they were not concerned about the issue. 75% of Coalition voters said they had growing concerns, 9% said the issue was a minor concern, and 5% said they had no concerns.
48% of Labor voters called radical Islam a growing concern, 28% said it was minor, and just 13% said they were not concerned, while even a majority of Greens voters had either growing (28%) or minor (40%) concerns.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for refusing to discuss the issue, including after the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack, when he repeatedly brought up “right-wing extremism” instead.
Last week she said the Labor government should not have given a taxpayer-funded grant to an Islamic centre linked to the alleged Flydubai hijacker, and in September accused Mr Albanese of allowing radical Islamic terror to “fester” in Australia following the arrest of an alleged ISIS member in Melbourne.
“After the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil last year, the government is still downplaying the threat of radical Islam,” she said.
“This alleged terrorist is accused of being a member of ISIS and providing instructions to others on how to plan and carry out mass casualty terrorist attacks.
“The country has watched as Tony Burke has allowed alleged ISIS members back into Australia while secretly facilitating the return of more alleged ISIS fighters. The Prime Minister refused to call the threat what it is: radical Islamic terrorism.”
She also criticised the government for allowing ISIS brides and their children to fly into Australia earlier this year.
Header image: Left, Bondi terrorist Naveed Akram (supplied). Right, an ISIS bride and child leaving a camp in Syria (supplied).
