Thank you. In particular I'd like to thank His Excellency the Permanent Observer to the African Union Mr António for hosting this event and His Excellency the Permanent Representative of Mauritius, Mr Meetarbhan for chairing the meeting.
Excellencies.
I would like to thank you for gathering here today.
It is a privilege to speak with you at a time of momentous challenges and opportunities in Africa.
Recent and historic events in North Africa serve to demonstrate the central and indispensable role of the United Nations.
They also serve to demonstrate that regional leadership - in this case through the African Union and the Arab League and its members - is always necessary to international stability and to respect of human dignity.
So I warmly acknowledge the actions of the African Union and the League of Arab States for putting their weight behind freedom, human rights, good governance, and helping the transition to more representative and responsive forms of government.
I am fortunate to serve in government in a peaceful and stable democracy.
We do sometimes speak of political courage but in truth, what an Australian politician risks is slight.
That is why I want to very warmly acknowledge both the Permanent Representative of Libya who is here with us this afternoon, HE Mr Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, and his Deputy HE Ibrahim Dabbashi for the profound courage they have shown by calling for the protection of the Libyan people in these difficult days.
INTRODUCING AUSTRALIA
I am proud of Australia's record at the United Nations.
For Australia - one of the world's five oldest continuous democracies - the values of the United Nations Charter are central to how we conduct ourselves on the world stage.
We strongly support the rules-based international order which the Charter underpins.
The values of the Charter don't only reflect the official stance of the Australian Government.
They reflect the character of the Australian people.
We believe in sharing. Australians call this “a fair go”.
In practice, it means respecting the vital importance of every person having the means of a dignified life.
Australia is part of a region where 20 of our 22 closest neighbours are developing countries. We believe in building partnerships to create development opportunities for the world's poorest and we are part of the global fight to eradicate extreme poverty.
We believe in sticking together.
Australians call this “mateship”.
In practice, it means recognising that many human problems require co-operation.
Australia is part of a complex, inter-connected world and we know countries cannot succeed alone. We believe in working together across national boundaries.
And we are optimists and innovators.
Australians call this “having a go”.
In practice, it means forging creative solutions to common challenges.
Australia does this in the United Nations - from developing best practice in peacekeeping doctrine to sharing new ideas for environmentally sustainable consumption and production.
We are a country of energetic, innovative and practical people.
Australia is also a diverse and tolerant society.
We are one of the world's most multicultural countries, home to people from hundreds of ethnic and language backgrounds and to all the world's religions.
One in four Australian residents were born overseas.
In recent years many Africans have made Australia home and now over a quarter of a million Australians can claim African descent.
The Australian continent is home to Indigenous Australians - perhaps the oldest continuing cultures in the world.
And I am proud that the Australian Parliament in 2008 issued a National Apology to Indigenous Australians.
Like many similar nations we have a long way to go to close the gap in life opportunity between indigenous people and our community as a whole.
We are the first to admit that.
But with the Apology my country crossed an historic bridge and there is no going back.
AUSTRALIA'S OVERALL INTERNATIONAL APPROACH
In the United Nations, and in all our international engagement,
Australia works to make a difference for the small and medium countries of the world, who otherwise risk being shut out of the international agenda.
We are unique among the major developed countries, situated as we are between the Indian and Pacific oceans, in a region of developing countries.
Our history and geography combine to give us a distinctive perspective: a perspective of both the North and the South.
We have been committed to the United Nations for all of its sixty five years - the United Nations is the first pillar of Australian foreign policy.
Our record of achievement in international peace and security is proud - from the deployment of the first international peacekeepers in 1947; to the Cambodian Peace Settlement; to the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and the recent International Commission on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament; to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; and from Cyprus to Timor-Leste to Sudan.
We have worked hard for the Millennium Development Goals, doubling our aid budget over the last five years and intending to double it again to 2015.
We are giving a new priority globally to the least-developed countries.
Australia is also emphasising sustainable development as a critical challenge. We are committed to global action on climate change.
We played an active and constructive role in the formation of the Cancun Agreements which built on the Copenhagen accord.
Our Fast Start funding of around $600 million was announced early and almost 80 per cent of it has already been allocated to developing countries. This is part of the $1.2 billion we are spending on climate change in developing countries over the next few years.
We will continue to play a positive, and I hope thoughtful role. Last month I committed to introduce a carbon price in Australia in July next year.
I am determined that Australia will not be left behind in the world's transition to a clean energy future.
Climate change is a key theme for Australia's international engagement but our engagement ranges widely.
We believe in an effective and responsive United Nations and we try to show that in our role here. Australia's own history in the UN is that we do what we say.
We support early reform of the Security Council and the way it works.
No-one should have a monopoly on global decision-making.
We have a special commitment to the Indigenous peoples of the world. We seek to advance the interests of First Peoples in every country.
And we are committed to interfaith and inter-religious dialogue. People of faith from all the world's religions live together in our multicultural nation.
We actively participate in interfaith and inter-religious dialogues. Together with Indonesia we established the first major dialogue in our own region almost a decade ago.
So good citizenship, human development, environmental sustainability and peace and stability remain the decisive elements of our international agenda.
Today I want to reflect particularly on peace and stability.
It is an area where Australia's record is particularly strong and remains central to our work in the UN.
Many of the countries represented in this room have contributed to peacekeeping. Many here have taken on enormous burdens in African-led peace operations.
We understand those responsibilities.
Today more than 3500 Australians are deployed in peace and security operations globally.
Our commitment to peacekeeping is longstanding, including in Africa. We have participated in more than fifty UN and other multi-lateral peacekeeping missions.
We have most recently been called on to lead several in our own region - in Timor-Leste, the Solomon Islands and on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
In Africa our involvement goes back to the 1960s through a dozen missions including Republic of Congo, Uganda, Namibia, Mozambique, Somalia, Western Sahara, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
We are active in de-mining activities - Australia's first Mine Action Strategy was launched in 2005-06 and since then we have spent over $11 million Australian dollars reducing the threat and impact of mines in Africa.
We are increasing our training for African defence officers in Australian courses.
We have contributed funding to AMISOM in Somalia.
And we have been working closely with the African Union on developing guidelines on the Protection of Civilians.
I applaud the African Union and its members for their continued strengthening of regional prevention and response mechanisms, for the work of the Union's Peace and Security Council and for its intra-regional cooperation efforts.
We owe it to the troops we send and to the populations they protect to get peacekeeping and peacebuilding right.
AUSTRALIA'S APPROACH TO AFRICA
The same principles that animate Australian society and our work in the United Nations animate our approach to friendship with Africa.
Respect, co-operation, creativity.
And as we strengthen our UN engagement, we increase our efforts right across Africa.
We recognise Africa's growing global role and leadership.
Australia is an Indian Ocean country, as well as a Pacific one.
And when we look across the Indian Ocean, we see a strong and dynamic continent ... a place full of possibility.
Over the last decade six of the world's ten fastest-growing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa.
Foreign direct investment has increased almost six fold and average real economic growth more than doubled compared to the previous two decades.
Australians believe Africa's future holds great promise.
Australian companies know this.
They have already invested more than US$20 billion in Africa's resource sector - with over another US$20 billion currently being assessed as prospective investment.
More than 220 Australian resource companies are engaged in over 600 projects across 42 African countries. Over 140 new projects were added last year alone.
In fact, Australian companies have more projects in Africa than they do in any other region of the world.
Australian business has led the way, but I would candidly say that the Government itself has not done enough in the past.
So it's right that Australia is expanding our diplomatic presence in Africa. We have opened a new embassy in Addis Ababa and increased representation in other diplomatic posts.
Last year we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Commission of the African Union to increase cooperation in trade and investment, peace and security, achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, agriculture and food security, democracy, governance and human rights, and climate change.
From the first, Australian prosperity has been secured through industries which are important to Africa today. Agriculture and mining, forestry and fisheries account for more than half of Australia's export earnings.
So we are keen to share the expertise that has brought us prosperity with our African partners and friends.
Let me outline some of our programs in Africa directed at capacity-building and institutional support.
Supporting food security and building capacity in agriculture.
Through projects designed to build research capacity, improve the functioning of rural markets and enhance the resilience of communities most vulnerable to food insecurity.
Projects consciously aligned with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme endorsed by the African Heads of State in 2003 as the framework to restore agricultural growth in Africa.
Improving water and sanitation.
Through programs to increase access to clean water and effective sanitation through infrastructure and institutional development.
Supporting maternal and child health.
With initiatives to focus on midwifery training, basic obstetric and newborn care and family planning in eastern Africa.
Sharing mining expertise.
We are sharing our experiences with resource management and building capacity in African mining. This includes promoting public-private partnerships to share expertise from the mining industry, government, academia and civil society. This year 60 mining short-course awards are being delivered.
In addition, at Mining Indaba in Cape Town in 2010, we established an initiative with four universities in West Africa to undertake mining-related research and teaching, including in the geosciences.
Working in the World Trade Organisation Doha Round.
Through our Chairmanship of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries Australia is working actively with Africa to break down protectionist agricultural trade barriers, particularly those in the US and Europe, which deprive countries of development opportunities.
And boosting human resource capacity.
Targeted, technical assistance to African countries in areas including agriculture, public policy and natural resource management.
And promoting knowledge, education links and enduring ties between Australia and our friends around the world.
Much to do many opportunities for progress.
As Africa's influence grows in the world the countries of Africa should be better represented in the councils of the world.
That is why Australia strongly supports Africa's claims for two permanent seats on the UN Security Council and for an equitable proportion of new elected seats.
I appreciate the opportunity to meet you today.
We are ambitious for the UN and the multilateral system.
Our Australian mission here in New York today introduced me to an African proverb
If you want to go fast - go alone.
If you want to go far - go together.
That is the spirit Australia brings to the United Nations and that is the spirit we hope to bring to the Security Council.
I would like to hear your assessments, perspectives and questions on these challenges.
And I welcome and strongly encourage a dialogue with you in the future ... starting today.