Polling: War Memorial Development
Media release
Vast Majority of Australians Prefer Funds for War Memorial Expansion to be Spent Elsewhere
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,006 Australians about the proposed $500 million redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
The Memorial’s redevelopment will include a southern entrance refurbishment of the main building, a new Anzac Hall connected to the main building, an extension to the Bean Building to establish a research centre, and public space improvements.
Respondents were asked what they would prefer the money to be spent on:
- One in two (49%) Australians would prefer the money to be spent on services like health and education, including 41% of Coalition and 56% of Labor voters.
- One in four (26%) Australians would prefer the money to be spent on veterans’ support services.
- 13% of Australians would prefer the funds to be spent on the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial.
![Figure 1: Preference for war memorial spending on alternative projects](https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-05-at-6.31.54-am-600x344.png)