The PM is talking us up at the UN
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Why is Australia campaigning for a seat on the UN Security Council?
This is a Squeeze podcast, where your shortcut to being informed.
Good morning, I'm Andrew Williams.
And I'm Anna Paikett.
It's Tuesday, the 22nd of September. In your Squeeze today, the Prime Minister is talking up Australia at the UN. A high-profile murder case has begun in Sydney. It's been a record night at the Brownlow Medal, and an Aussie shearer has set a high bar. This is your Squeeze today. PM Anthony Albanese is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly this week, and yesterday he officially launched Australia's campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2029 and 2030. Now, we did a shortcut on this last week, but Anna, let's run back over what the UN Security Council actually is.
I'm a bit biased. It's a good shortcut. Go back and listen
to it if you
have time. Now, I feel like I can do this off the top of my head now because of that, Andrew. But the UN Security Council is a group of 15 countries inside the UN, which is a central body where nations work together to solve global problems. Its decisions bind all members and five of them are permanent members. That's the US, France, China, Russia and the UK. They're the victors of World War II, but if you've been following any world affairs, you'll know they seem to have increasingly less in common at the moment. The other 10 seats are shared between the other UN members and seats last for two years and five new members are elected every year.
So to get things done, the council votes on resolutions.
What are the main allegations in the high‑profile Sydney murder trial?
For example, they might sign off on a peacekeeping mission or sanction a country that it thinks has been misbehaving. But the permanent five on the Security Council have what are called veto powers. They can essentially say no to any resolution that the Security Council puts up. So some of them, as a result, don't get up. Still, if you've got a seat, you can put things on the agenda to be voted on. So it would essentially put us at the table. with the geopolitical big dogs. And that's why the Prime Minister thinks it's important. He says middle powers like Australia need that seat at the table, saying that Australia punches above our weight and we can have an impact on the world. So to get it, we'd need two thirds of the UN.
That's about 130 countries to vote for us. But it's a little bit of a wait until we find out whether that happens or not.
Yeah, there's a long tail. The vote doesn't actually happen until June 2028. So there'll be a fair bit of campaigning between now and then. Even though only two candidates from our group have decided to go for it so far, the other one is Finland. In the meantime, PM Albanese will be busy this week. He's giving a keynote address to a UN Climate Week event today. And we'll also be talking up our social media laws as part of our bona fides for the gig. It's worth noting that not everyone thinks the Security Council spot is a good idea, though.
How could Chinese‑made electric vehicles become surveillance tools?
Campaigning for it does cost money. And given the veto powers of those big five we mentioned earlier, there are questions over whether it's worth the money and
effort. field questions about that yesterday. Unsurprisingly, he's still on board. The coalition is also generally on board in terms of the local politics around this. But even when he was in New York, he couldn't escape domestic politics. He was asked about his government's falling poll numbers. It had a rough news poll yesterday. So we'll see if his activities in New York and his upcoming address to the General Assembly, which will likely be tomorrow night or Thursday morning, moves the needle at all here at home. There's quite a lot going on in our courts at the moment, multiple high-profile cases to keep track of, and one that started yesterday was the trial of Bolimar Condon. That's the man accused of killing a Sydney couple, Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, back in 2024.
And he's pleaded not guilty in the New South Wales Supreme Court to two counts of domestic violence-related murder and one of aggravated break and enter. The search for the couple, who vanished back in February 2024, made national headlines at the time and shocked the LGBTQ community.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Why is Australia campaigning for a seat on the UN Security Council?
0:00–1:30
2
What are the main allegations in the high‑profile Sydney murder trial?
1:30–2:44
3
How could Chinese‑made electric vehicles become surveillance tools?
2:44–4:41
4
Who won the record‑breaking Brownlow Medal and how is it awarded?
4:41–6:56
5
What historic achievement did shearer Nikki Gutler accomplish?
6:56–8:19
6
Which fashion capitals are featured in this month’s fashion‑week roundup?
8:19–9:04
7
What are the hosts’ final thoughts and what’s coming up next?
9:04–9:13
Speakers
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Squiz Shortcuts: Australia and the UN Security Council