Australians are showing strong support for a more independent foreign policy, with a new poll finding that such an approach is far more popular than pursuing a closer alliance with the United States.

Experts say the findings reflect a significant shift in Australian public opinion, with implications not only for how the outside world views the US but also for the US itself.

A nationwide YouGov poll of 1,502 Australians found that 59 percent of respondents believe the country's interests are better served by pursuing a more independent foreign policy, compared with just 23 percent who favored a closer alliance with the US.

The poll, conducted for Canberra-based The Australia Institute between March 12 and 19, points to waning public confidence in the US under the current administration. Results released on May 7 showed that only one in eight Australians regard the US as a "very reliable" security ally, while more than half consider it unreliable overall.

Emma Shortis, director of the institute's international and security affairs program, said this marks a "significant shift" in Australian opinion.

The change was driven by the US administration's assault on the institutions and norms of international law, and by what many Australians see as Washington's contemptuous treatment of its traditional allies, Shortis said.

"Australians can see that the US president is volatile, and they can hear when he calls the US' traditional allies 'cowards'," she said. "Australians are responding to this new reality."

The US president has made clear that he has no interest in maintaining those alliances. Shortis noted that he had said the US did not need "allies" such as Australia and had even threatened to invade a NATO ally — an apparent reference to Washington's threats to seize the Danish territory of Greenland.

The US president criticized several allies, including Australia, in a post on his Truth Social account in mid-March, saying they were unwilling to take part in the US military operation against Iran.

"Once again, Australians are simply responding to this reality," Shortis said.

Meanwhile, the poll found that one-third of Australians believe the AUKUS security pact is not in the country's best interests.

AUKUS, a trilateral partnership formed by Australia, the United Kingdom and the US in 2021, will see Australia spend A$368 billion ($260 billion) over 30 years to acquire and build nuclear-powered submarines.

'Different role'

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said recently that the US is "playing a different role now", with its shift toward protectionism and tariffs changing global dynamics and prompting the world to adjust.

"(The US) has retreated from some of its previous positions on economic policy, for example, when it comes to protectionism and the imposition of tariffs. It's a very different position from the historic pro-market position that the US has held," Albanese told ABC Radio.

"That changes the dynamic in the world," he said, adding that Western countries have adjusted to that.

Shortis said US foreign policies are also reshaping the US itself, both domestically and in terms of its role in the world.

"One cannot be separated from the other," she said, adding that the US administration undermines the rule of law at home, while it also does so in dealing with other countries.

She said this is already creating "significant economic and political turmoil" in the US, and that such domestic turmoil is being "projected out into the world".