Guy Beres

Kevin Rudd’s assertion today that Australia will be seeking temporary membership of the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term is a welcome and not altogether surprising move. The Rudd Government’s time in office so far has been characterised by a strong interest in re-engaging in a multilateral sense with the international community, and a willingness to commit to fairly long-winded plans that could conceivably only come to fruition beyond the life of the current government. In a foreign policy sense, it is refreshing. One imagines that John Howard was never that interested in seeking representation for Australia on the security council; probably partly because he didn’t have much belief in the United Nations, and partly because there was no need given that the United States spoke for Australia while he was in power anyway.

What I am hopeful of is that Australia takes an activist role in its interactions with the United Nations. In relation to most of the metrics one can conceive of, we are of course a bantam-weight at best on the international scene. Our twenty million people are barely a drop in the ocean when compared to the billions of people shared between the likes of the United States, China, and India. Australia may not be in the position to throw its weight around in the international political arena, but we are perfectly suited to playing a “fixer” intermediary role between the most powerful nations in the world. We have strong friends and the respect of nations in both the West and Asia. Kevin Rudd has the unique power to talk to the Chinese in a way that no Australian leader ever has. The prospects for Australia’s role in global politics to become greatly enhanced over the coming five years or so are extremely good, and this is an exciting and wonderful thing.