Australia would push to reform the United Nations if given a seat on its Security Council, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Monday, as she joined Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking with SBS News, Wong said Russia's use of veto powers to exempt itself from repercussions during its invasion of Ukraine was an example of where Australia would seek reform.
Fifteen countries sit on the Security Council, and its five permanent members have the right to veto any resolution or decision.
In 2022, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution that described its attempts to unlawfully annex four regions of Ukraine as “a threat to international peace and security”, demanding Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces” from Ukrainian territory. Ten of fifteen members had voted in favour of the resolution, while four abstained.
Wong said that Australia was "for reform", but that Australians were "very practical people".
"We recognise rules need to be upheld; the UN needs to be reformed."
Wong has backed Albanese's bid for a seat on the council, which Australia has not held since 2014.
International law is under a "great deal of pressure", Wong said, but the best response would be for countries to "come together" and advocate for the observance of international law.
Asked whether Australia could hold the United States to account over accusations around the war in Iran, as well as its actions in Venezuela, Wong said it was a task for the international community to work out the rules that "we really want to hold on to, that matter to us".