Security Council an important opportunity

"Australia wants to ensure that the UN delivers on the ground for the people, communities and nations that need it most. Australia played an important role in drafting the articles of the UN Charter that deal with the Security Council. We argued against allowing permanent members a veto power. Australia supports reform of the Security Council and its working methods to better reflect the modern world and ensure it is accessible to small and middle-sized countries."

A number of non-permanent members of the Council – Guatemala, Togo for example – are likely to pursue reform of the Security Council across a wide front. Australian support for initiatives in this area is likely to be pursued by these countries.

Australia and the United States

Australia can be expected to be sympathetic to American positions on many issues that will come before the Council over the next two years. This approach was hinted at by Foreign Minister Carr after our Council election. However, it would not be appropriate for Australia simply to follow the US lead on everything. The countries that supported us, especially those in our own region, will be expecting us to be an independent voice but one that is sensitive to their concerns. It is important that we not let them down.

The challenge for Australia will be to act independently on issues which we have previously been able to ignore or to use as demonstration of our loyalty to the United States. Our repeated military involvement in the Middle East, for example, can only make sense in the context of our relations with the United States, a point made by former Prime Minister Howard before we joined the American invasion of Iraq. A review of the White Paper, "Australia in the Asian Century" makes clear that our priorities lie in Asia and that this is where we have traditionally focused our main energies. The Council's agenda will not conform to the White Paper.

Domestic support for our term on the Council will be important because many 'non-core' issues have constituencies in Australia. There are, for example, Australians of Latin American descent who care deeply about developments in that part of the world. The Government will need to be responsive to the concerns of those Australians.

Domestic capacity

A major challenge for the Government will be the level of expertise it is capable of bringing to issues that will cover the entire international agenda. For over 20 years the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has suffered personnel and funding cuts. The scarce remaining resources have been heavily focused on the Government's consular obligations. Together these actions have seriously weakened the capacity of the Department to provide meaningful policy research and guidance. In anticipation of the election to the Council, the Government has expanded the number of people working on UN issues in the Department but it remains to be seen whether it is able to fulfil this demanding role while meeting its other responsibilities.

In promoting Australia's case for election to the Security Council, Prime Minister Gillard stressed our record as a major donor of aid and highlighted our contribution to peacekeeping activities. She emphasised Australia's commitment to the "high ideals" of the UN and to achieving change. Carefully managed and supported by the Australian population, our term on the Council will fulfil much of Ms Gillard's vision.