Aussies warm with love for Kiwis

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They just cannot stop loving us.

New Zealand has been voted Australia's most warmly regarded country - by a new record of 83 "degrees" - in the latest poll of the nation's feelings by the Lowy Institute for International Policy.

The warmth of regard was measured by a "thermometer", on which respondents were asked to rate their regard for 17 countries on a scale of degrees from zero to 100.

New Zealand had set the previous record of 81deg.

The next most warmly regarded country was Canada, on 80deg, with a long drop to Germany, the third-highest rated country at 68deg.

An emerging trend noted was a gradual warming towards the United States, which rose by 3 to 67deg, edging out Japan for fourth place.

Elsewhere in the poll, Australians showed a strengthening in support for relations with Washington.

The poll said 85 per cent regarded the alliance with the United States as important, with a majority of 55 per cent for the first time rating it as very important.

Feelings for all other countries either remained stable or cooled.

The composition of countries is different in each of the annual polls.

Japan ranked fifth and - despite the military takeover, diplomatic tensions and some cooling - Fiji came sixth with 63deg.

Regard for China cooled by 3 to a "lukewarm" 53 per cent compared with last year.

East Timor's "temperature" on the warmth thermometer has cooled by 6 to 50deg since last year, placing the country 1deg above Indonesia.

More than three-quarters of Australians also expressed concern elsewhere in the poll about the rising tide of boats carrying illegal asylum seekers from Indonesia.

The least popular countries on the list were Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea, which scored a chilly 30deg.