Australia in the grip of terror and corruption

The world is closing in on Australians. An overwhelming majority now believe that corruption is rife in politics and business.

And most believe Australia will be attacked in the war against terrorism, which they say the West is losing.

The two pointers to the mood of the nation were reported in separate opinion polls.

A Morgan poll revealed the level of pessimism over corruption, finding that nine out of 10 Australians think corruption affects both political life and the business environment.

"Australians are concerned about corruption, especially in the business and political arenas," Roy Morgan Research chief Gary Morgan said.

Seventy per cent of respondents said they thought corruption affected the two fields to a moderate or large extent.

And 47 per cent thought their state governments were not effective in the fight against corruption, with 15 per cent believing they either encouraged corruption or did not fight it.

The least confident were Tasmanians, with 60 per cent considering their Government's efforts were ineffective.

Further, 11 per cent said the island's Government encouraged corruption, and 12 per cent believed it did not fight the scourge.

More than half of the Queenslanders surveyed also believed their Government was not doing enough. Significantly, as Labor Premier Peter Beattie prepares to go to the polls, one in 10 said the state Government not only failed to fight corruption but also encouraged it.

"What should concern state politicians is more Australians say state governments are ineffective in their fight against corruption than effective by 47 per cent to 42 per cent," Morgan said.

"Majorities in all states except Western Australia think their state is more ineffective than effective in fighting corruption."

And while more than half consider corruption has no affect on their personal and family lives, 47 per cent thought it had at least some affect.

A Daily Telegraph poll found about 75 per cent of Australians believed the war on terrorism was being lost, with more than 50 per cent thinking it was very likely or fairly likely the nation would be attacked in the next 12 months.

Most believed the West, including Australia, would be at war with terrorists for the next 20 years.

Allied with this, the poll found deep concerns about Muslim Australians.

While 52 per cent believed most Muslims living in Australia were moderate, 21 per cent considered them not moderate, and 27 per cent said they did not know.

The newspaper quoted poll respondent Maureen Stowefern, 62, as saying: "Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims."

The poll also showed most Australians disagreed with the Government's decision not to follow Britain and the United States in tightening airport security even further.

The decision, reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, followed a Cabinet national security committee finding that despite the discovery of the plot to blow up 10 transatlantic airliners with liquid explosive, the threat to Australia did not warrant new measures.

But the Daily Telegraph poll said that most respondents wanted stricter security at airports following the foiled terror plan.

Aussie battlers

* Recent polls show 47 per cent of Australians think their state governments are not effective in fighting corruption.

* About 75 per cent believe the war on terrorism is being lost.

* More than 50 per cent think Australia will be attacked within the next year.