Just over half of respondents viewed the current state of the reef as "already bad", with 84 per cent saying it was "declining" or "getting worse".

Care for the reef has also been politically charged of late, with the Turnbull government's decision to grant $444 million to the little known Great Barrier Reef Foundation to invest in conservation efforts drawing close scrutiny this week in Senate estimates.

Koala concerns

Of species drawing particular concern, koalas topped the list with just over half of respondents saying it was the creature they would most like to see protected.

Bilbys and whales were next favoured at 30 per cent each, while sharks - many of which are faring poorly despite media interest in occasional bites - drew just 9 per cent support for protection.

Long-running data sets going back to the late-1990s found Australians' concerns about the environment tend to waver during periods of economic turmoil, such in the global financial crisis that erupted in late-2007 and lasted four years.

Still, 81 per cent in March last year agreed with the view that "if we don't act now, we will never control our environmental problems", and 63 per cent supported the "at heart, I'm an environmentalist" description.

Climate of change

Despite perennial debate amongst politicians, the year-end survey found the great bulk - 86 per cent - agree that climate change is happening, with 65 per cent accepting humans are causing it, the report found.

Almost six in 10 named solar as their preferred energy source, ahead of wind at 15 per cent. Just seven per cent picked coal and 4 per cent gas.

“Coal is definitely on the nose and 69 per cent agree that coal and gas are putting the planet at risk," Mr O'Gorman said. “That’s a clear message to politicians but also...to electricity and energy providers that their licence to operate is disappearing extremely fast."

In that vein, 52 per cent of those surveyed supported the statement that "the federal government should not allow new coal mines", with only 22 per cent rejecting that statement, the report found.

Age gap

The survey also produced a generational divide between respondents aged 18-24 compared with those older than 65 years.

Three of four in the younger group viewed humans were "largely causing" climate change, with just over half that taking the same view in the older one.

Still, the latter group indicated higher interest into recycling and energy saving, with more than two-thirds viewing themselves as environmentalists against half those in the younger cohort.

On other issues, 84 per cent supported action by their state governments to stop excessive tree-clearing, while some 85 per cent saw plastics as the number threat to the seas around us.

“In a very short period of time, plastics have - in terms of public perceptions - become an enormous threat to the oceans," Mr O'Gorman said. “People want particularly state governments and companies to take very specific action to take plastic from the system."