This morning the Lowy Institute officially launched its 7th annual poll of Australian public opinion with a fascinating and amusing panel discussion involving former NSW Premier Bob Carr, Laura Tingle from the Australian Financial Review, and Liberal Senator for Queensland Russell Trood.

The audio of this discussion — which veers off into some unexpected directions — will be live tomorrow, and I hope to have an interview with Bob Carr for you too. But first, here's Senator Russell Trood, a long-time foreign policy commentator in the Australian Senate and a Lowy Institute author, talking about the meaning of this year's poll. I started by asking him about the stubborn resistance of the Australian public to the war in Afghanistan:

Listen here