OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann kicked off his first hours in the job with a challenge to his membership: it’s time for democratic and market-based nations to rally against autocracy.

In a speech delivered at a virtual OECD ministers’ meeting on Wednesday (AEDT) to mark his takeover from Angel Gurria, Mr Cormann outlined plans to focus the world’s richest economies on sensible climate change action, halt the global race to the bottom on corporate taxes, and tackle the post-virus recovery.