In what can seem to be
darkening times, I want to begin with a message of
hope. Amid all our problems, the murderous rage of
the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Syria and
Iraq, Russian aggression in Ukraine, the spread of
Ebola in West Africa and the stubborn sluggishness of
many economies, let me start with a small but telling
illustration of nations working together to serve our
common humanity. Last March, at the height of the
search for the missing Flight MH-70, I went to the Pearce
airbase in Western Australia to thank all the aviators
involved. There were personnel from Australia, New
Zealand, Malaysia and the United States — countries
that are accustomed to working together. There were
also personnel from China, Japan and Korea — countries
whose relations sometimes labour under the weight of
historical grievances.
On that occasion, however, the tragedy and a
daunting challenge drew out the best in everyone.
The Organization was founded on the principle that
we should work together for the common good and
that, over time, talking together and working together
will improve our capacity for living together. Like
any institution, the United Nations is an imperfect
instrument. Still, it is better than “might is right”, and
it gives good arguments the best chance to prevail.
Despite faults and failures, the United Nations
has worked for peace and progress for nearly 70 years.
Australia has been proud to play its part, starting in
1946, when we held the first presidency of the Security
Council and helped to draft the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. At the heart of the Organization is the
principle that we should act towards others as we would
have them act towards us. For almost seven decades,
Australia has believed in the potential of the United
Nations and supported its work. Keeping commitments,
valuing human life, protecting property and extending
freedom are universal aspirations, not only Australian
ones.
Since 1947, we have provided more than 65,000
personnel to more than 50 multilateral peace and
security operations. We are not a country accustomed to
turning back, once we have put our hand to the plough.
We have had Blue Beret personnel in the Middle East
since 1956 and in Cyprus since 1964. When leadership
is needed, we step up, as we did in Bougainville,
in Timor-Leste and in Solomon Islands. In Korea,
Cambodia, Kuwait and Afghanistan and in Somalia,
Sierra Leone and other troubled places, Australians
have lent a hand under the United Nations banner. We
have only 21 personnel in South Sudan now but have
conducted an airlift of equipment that has supported a
much larger force.
With just 24 million people, Australia is a relatively
small country, but we have the world’s twelfth-
largest economy, with global interests and with some
global reach. We are strong enough to be useful but
pragmatic enough to know our limits. Under successive
Governments, for more than 100 years, Australia’s
determination has been to advance our interests,
to protect our citizens and to uphold our values.
We have never believed that we can save the world
single-handedly, nor have we shrunk from shouldering
our responsibilities. After the 2004 East Asian tsunami,
we committed $1 billion to Indonesia. We were one of
the first countries to arrive with help in Japan after the
2011 earthquake and in the Philippines after the 2013
typhoon.
To date, we have pledged $8 million towards
combating the Ebola outbreak, and dozens of Australian
health professionals are working with international
agencies in the region. To us, this is all part of being a
good global citizen. Last July, we were pleased to sponsor
Security Council resolution 2166 (2014) and to work
with the Dutch and the Malaysians to investigate the
crash site and recover our dead, after Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH-17 was shot down by Russian-backed rebels
over eastern Ukraine. We are grateful for the help that
Ukraine gave us, and are naturally sympathetic to a
country struggling to preserve its independence and
territorial integrity against a bully. With the Dutch and
the Malaysians, we will do everything we can to ensure
that the investigation is not undermined, and that the
crime is not covered up, because that is our duty to the
38 Australians murdered in this atrocity.
Right now, an Australian force has been deployed
to the Middle East, so that we can join a coalition
seeking to disrupt and degrade the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant terrorist movement at the request
of the Iraqi Government. One of our prime ministers
once talked about our country’s great objective, “our
light on the hill,” as he put it, namely, to work for the
betterment of mankind, not just at home, but wherever
we can lend a helping hand. To build a better world,
we need to respond sensibly to the problems before us,
whether through bodies such as the United Nations,
or in coalitions with like-minded countries. We also
need to work purposefully to create stronger and more
resilient people and communities. A stronger economy
will not solve every problem, but it will make almost
every problem easier to tackle. Richer people are not
necessarily better people, but the problems of plenty
are invariably easier to deal with than those of want.
As this year’s Chair of the Group of Twenty (G-
20), Australia is determined to promote private-sector-
led growth: growth, because that is the best way
to generate jobs and improve everyone’s quality of
life; private-sector-led, because profitable, private
businesses are the best source of real, sustainable
wealth. Freer trade, more investment in infrastructure,
a modern and fair international tax system, stronger
global economic institutions and a more resilient
financial sector are all parts of our G-20 agenda to
strengthen the world economy.
Rather than preaching, we are trying to lead by
example. Australia has abolished the carbon tax and
the mining tax, and we have provided environmental
approvals for $800 billion worth of new projects. We
have also begun the task of eliminating our budget
deficit within four years. We have finalized a series of
trade deals, because every time a country trades with
another, wealth increases, and when wealth increases,
countries grow stronger. Our G-20 goal is to boost
output by an extra 2 per cent over the next five years
to create millions of jobs and to generate trillions in
wealth right around the world.
Likewise, the post-2015 development agenda
should also focus on economic growth, because growth
makes every other social goal, even tackling climate
change, easier to accomplish. To people who do not
know where their next meal is coming from, talk of
economic growth can seem ignorant or indulgent. But
“economic growth” is really just economists’ shorthand
for more jobs, higher pay, new industries and the better
life that only greater wealth can provide. Economic
growth might seem a mundane vision, but it allows
millions more people to create their own vision of how
their lives can be better.
To anyone who doubts that stronger economic
growth can be achieved, I say, “Look at the countries
of East Asia”. In scarcely two generations, the rise
of Asia has driven the greatest social and economic
transformation in history. People live longer, they are
better educated, wealthier and, yes, they enjoy a level
of freedom and stability that their parents could only
dream of. In Japan, Korea and now China, in India and
increasingly in Indonesia, many hundreds of millions
of people have been lifted from poverty to the middle
class. Almost certainly, that is the greatest and fastest
advance in human welfare of all time.
While all Governments, Australia’s included, could
always be better, smarter and more compassionate,
no one should be blind to the great progress that has
occurred. We live in the most remarkable age in human
history. For all the work that remains to be done, we
have seen more change for the better than at any other
time.
As the General Assembly session meets with
such pressing issues before it, our challenge — as
always — is to realize our best hopes and to be our best
selves. Australians have two defining characteristics:
we believe in a “fair go”, because innate decency
demands that every person have a chance to contribute.
We also believe in “having a go”, because rolling up
your sleeves will always produce a better result than
standing on the sidelines complaining. That readiness
to make an effort for a good cause is why Australia
feels so comfortable in this body and is so ready to
contribute to its work. We should put no limits on what
we can achieve, especially when we work together, trust
people and are faithful to our deepest values.
Every country counts. Every argument must be
weighed. Every person has equal rights and dignity.
Every person deserves respect. All people are entitled
to make their own choices — provided they do not
infringe on the rights of others. Those are the principles
that this Organization embodies and on which the
future of humanity rests.