More Australians had faith in Christopher Luxon than their own Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Australians trust NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon more than any other leader on the world stage, according to a new poll.
The Lowy Institute - an Australian geopolitics think tank - reported that 44 percent of surveyed Australians had "some confidence" in their closest neighbour's leader to "do the right thing regarding world affairs", while 19 percent said they had "a lot of confidence", a total of 63 percent.
More Australians believed in Luxon than their own Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who earned the confidence of only 60 percent of Australians, the Institute reported.
Luxon's predecessors - Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins - also topped the list in this ranking over the past two years.
On a net basis - subtracting those with not too much or no confidence - Luxon ties with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on 49 percent.
Luxon's net confidence rating also beat French President Emmanuel Macron (37 percent), UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (36 percent), and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (27 percent).
US President Donald Trump scored -47 percent, while Russian President Vladmir Putin scored -80 percent.
New Zealand also topped the institutes "feels thermometer", measuring Australians' warmth towards other nations, "at a very warm 85° in 2025, a position it has held in all of the 15 years it has been included".
The prime minister's office declined to comment.
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