The way Australians think about their place in the world is in flux. The 2026 Lowy Institute Poll reveals profound shifts in how the public views Australia's two most important relationships — with the United States and China — and what that might mean for our economic and defence partnerships, foreign policy, and prosperity and security in the region.

Join us to hear from the Poll's author Charles Lyons-Jones alongside Shruti Pandalai, the Lowy Institute's India Chair, and Dan Flitton, Managing Editor of the Interpreter, as they analyse the findings of the Poll and discuss the implications for Australia.

The event will be moderated by Mihai Sora, Director of Research at the Lowy Institute.

Charles Lyons-Jones is a Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program, where he oversees the annual Lowy Institute Poll. Prior to this role, he spent five years in the Australian Government with PM&C and DFAT, including a posting to the Australian High Commission in Islamabad.

Daniel Flitton is Managing Editor of the Lowy Institute's international magazine, The Interpreter, and one of Australia's most experienced foreign affairs journalists. Before joining the Institute, he was diplomatic editor and senior correspondent at The Age and a Fulbright Scholar researching the Australia–United States alliance at Georgetown University.

Shruti Pandalai is the inaugural India Chair at the Lowy Institute. Specialising in Indian foreign and security policy, her research focuses on Indo-Pacific geopolitics, great power competition, and the strategic complexities of the India–China relationship in the realm of information operations.