Just one—quarter of Australian voters agree with Gillard’s view that the diplomatic cables recently published by WikiLeaks should have remained secret, The Age reported quoting a survey.
The findings showed 59 per cent support WikiLeaks’ action in making the cables public and 25 per cent oppose it.
The survey of 1,000 Australians by pollster UMR Research was taken between December 16 and 21, three weeks after the cables from US embassies began appearing.
UMR Managing Director John Utting said support for the release of the cables was strongest among men, the more affluent and younger voters, and the better educated.
“Also there is little difference between the two major parties, while Green voters overwhelmingly support the release,” Utting said.
The UMR poll also found 51 per cent of Australian voters have a generally positive opinion of Julian Assange, while 24 per cent hold negative views towards the WikiLeaks founder.
While 68 per cent of male voters said they support the WikiLeaks release, only 51 per cent of female voters agree.
Over 60 per cent of voters opposed any prosecution for releasing the documents, with just 19 per cent believing he should be prosecuted.
According to Utting, the most significant finding from the polling is the almost complete lack of support for prosecuting Assange... The public is overwhelmingly against this.
