Stepping up to more active role

It is no surprise a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade audit ordered by Scott Morrison has called on Australia to pursue a strengthened and more active role in multilateral bodies including the UN. With the US turning inward and China’s ambition to dominate the global agenda, the recommendation makes sense not only for us but also other medium powers. Last month’s World Health Assembly, at which 137 nations unanimously supported our lead advocacy for an independent inquiry into COVID-19 despite China’s fierce initial opposition, was a show of what can be achieved. Beijing was left to throw in the towel.

Similar involvement is needed in other key UN agencies. Some are run by Chinese nationals, such as the International Telecommunication Union, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UN Industrial Development Organisation. The strategically important ITU, headed by Chinese official Houlin Zhao, is considering a Beijing-Huawei proposal for a radical reinvention of the internet. Critics say it would “bake in authoritarianism”, allowing states to control how and who uses the web. The anger that led Donald Trump to pull the US out of the World Health Organisation last month was understandable. But it may have been better for the US to stay inside and fight with other democracies for reform. The WHO would be diminished if it fell completely under Chinese domination.

The Prime Minister was right, in announcing the audit of “global institutions and rule-making processes” during a Lowy Institute address last October, to warn against “negative globalism”. Australia’s interests, he insisted, “are not served by isolationism and protectionism”, adding he was determined to see the country play a more active role than it had in the past in the bodies that set international standards. As the WHA showed, outcomes are likely to be far better when democracies seize the initiative and become involved more actively in contentious global issues.