One in four young men now say violence for a cause can be justified

One in four young men say "extreme measures", such as violence, can sometimes be justified to advance a cause, according to new research tracking Australians' views on democracy. 

The second McKinnon Index, released today, also shows trust in politicians and government has fallen compared to last year, while almost three-quarters of Australians believe the country is more divided than 12 months ago.

More than 4,000 Australians were surveyed on their attitudes towards democracy, led by the not-for-profit organisation McKinnon and conducted with Roy Morgan in June and July this year.

The results have been released amid a broader conversation about political safety and the state of Australian democracy after an alleged attack on Independent MP Helen Haines near her parliamentary office in regional Victoria last month. An alleged motive in that incident remains unknown.

The survey finds that Australians largely support democracy, with more than three quarters still saying it is preferable to any other system of government.

Support for democracy slides for young men

Some of the largest movements in the data occurred for men aged 18 to 24.

There was an increase in the proportion of young men who said extreme measures could sometimes be justified, rising to more than 27 per cent.

That compares to one in 10 across the whole population, while more than three-quarters of Australians disagreed.

Support for democracy also declined among young men to 54 per cent, while there was a sharp 23-point drop in the proportion who believed people could freely express political opinions, to about 50 per cent.

McKinnon interim executive chairman and former Victorian deputy premier John Thwaites said it was important to acknowledge that while those who said violence could be justified in some circumstances were in the minority, it was an increasing proportion.

"We need to do more to ensure that all of our community, but young men here in particular, understand our democracy, understand the importance of it, and understand that their voice is important and can be heard," he said.

Confidence in politics drops in regional areas

The survey more broadly showed Australians were less satisfied with democracy, with fewer than half believing the political system gave people like them a say.

Those who said they had low trust in the federal government cited broken promises, dishonesty and politicians being out of touch as the most common reasons.

The trend was more pronounced for people with lower education levels and those who lived in the regions.

In inner regional areas, dissatisfaction in democracy rose to nearly 39 per cent, higher than the national proportion of about 30 per cent.

Cathy McGowan, who was the Independent MP for Indi before Ms Haines, said people in rural and regional Australia were bearing the brunt of inequality.

But she said since the alleged attack on Ms Haines, she has heard calls all over Australia "for us to be better and do better".

"There's also a role for community to be much more active in holding each other to account and creating the environment that they want to protect the democracy that they value."

Trust in the public service is steady

While trust in politicians and governments has declined, faith in public servants and democratic institutions has largely remained steady or increased.

Nearly half of Australians said they trusted the federal public service, while satisfaction in the education system and public infrastructure also rose.

The Australian Electoral Commission had the highest trust level, with more than 70 per cent, followed by government regulators and advisory bodies at 57 per cent and the courts at 55 per cent.

University of Melbourne political science associate professor Aaron Martin said he had observed similar trends in his own research, including that support for institutions like the electoral commission remained high for the most part.

While he said it was difficult to read a trend from the two years of data provided by the McKinnon Index, other studies like the Australian Election Study showed satisfaction with democracy had risen between the 2019 and 2025 federal elections.

"I think over the longer term, the picture is a little more optimistic than the sort of snapshots that we're getting at the moment," he said.

Dr Martin said globally Australia sat between countries doing "really badly", such as the US, the UK, France and Spain, and countries doing "really well", like Denmark.

"Australia is in a pretty reasonable position, but that's not to say that we're in a sort of unassailable position either," he said.

Mr Thwaites said leaders needed to take note of the loss of trust.

"People need to know their voice matters. They also need to see leaders acting with integrity, keeping their promises and delivering outcomes that make a difference to their lives."