Prime Minister Julia Gillard Friday hailed Canberra’s election to the United Nations Security Council, saying holding the non-permanent seat would bring an “Australian accent” to world affairs.
Australia, which received 140 votes from the secret ballot of 193 members, was elected to the two-year role beginning in January along with Rwanda, Argentina, South Korea and Luxembourg in a vote in New York on Thursday.
“This is a proud day for Australia,” Gillard told reporters.
“We will take an Australian voice, an Australian accent into the Security Council and… we will say the same things in the Security Council that we have said beyond it.”
Gillard, who pressed ahead with the bid after deposing its initial supporter, former leader Kevin Rudd, said Australia’s key priorities would include Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea as well as Syria.
In New York, a delighted Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the win was a “terrific triumph”.
“It’s always good to see Australia win,” he told Australian media.
“This was a big, juicy, decisive win, and it’s very, very sweet.”
It is the fifth time Australia will serve on the Security Council, but the first in almost three decades with the most recent occasion in 1985-86.
The government has defended the more than Aus$24 million (US$25 million) spent on the five-year campaign, with Carr saying it was worth it because it led to a deepening of diplomatic ties with other nations.
He added that election to the council reflected Australia’s “positive standing in global affairs and the significant contribution Australia makes to international peace and security”.
“It’s a wonderful heart-warming endorsement of Australia as a good local citizen,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“It’s countries saying: ‘We like Australia. We think Australia’s role is good and positive and we want to see Australia provide leadership’.”
Australia needed at least 129 votes and was elected in the first round of balloting, having garnered the support of African and Caribbean states and Pacific islands.
The permanent members, wielding veto power, are the United States, China, France, Britain and Russia.
Gillard identified Syria as one of its top priorities for Canberra.
“We do believe that there needs to be action to address the violence in Syria and so we will certainly advocate for that,” she said.
The United States has described the UN Security Council as “paralysed” on how to solve the conflict in Syria, given that Russia and China refuse to ease their opposition to UN action against President Bashar al-Assad.
Gillard said Australia would also work to ensure the effectiveness of UN sanctions, including those targeting individuals associated with Al-Qaeda, and nominated East Timor and fighting global terror as key issues.
Australia relishes Security Council win
