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September 20, 2026 \u2014 10:00pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n New York: Australia will state its case for a seat at the world\u2019s most powerful diplomatic table, with Anthony Albanese pitching the country as a middle power capable of helping write the rules for artificial intelligence as the US and China race for technological dominance.<\/p>\n The prime minister will formally launch Australia\u2019s campaign for a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council in New York on Sunday (local time), using the bid to argue that smaller and middle-sized nations must have a greater say over the global response to AI, wars and rising geopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n Albanese also urged Washington and Beijing to help strike a global agreement on artificial intelligence akin to a nuclear non-proliferation treaty at the weekend, saying nations need international rules to ensure humans \u201cremain in control\u201d amid doomsday predictions.<\/p>\n His call came as US President Donald Trump doubled down on the race for AI supremacy, declaring the United States must maintain its lead over China and announcing an \u201cAI force\u201d to guard against the technology\u2019s \u201cdecimation or destruction\u201d.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cWe are leading China, and the rest of the World, and I intend to keep it that way!\u201d Trump wrote on social media, adding he would not \u201chinder or stifle\u201d growth in the industry.<\/p>\n Albanese told ABC\u2019s Insiders he hoped there would be progress when Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House this week amid potential doomsday offerings in recent weeks from industry insiders.<\/p>\n He said that middle powers could help bridge the gap between the major powers competing for technological and strategic advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, they\u2019re the big two giants here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to see co-operation. We\u2019ve seen that in the past with new technologies, even on nuclear weapons, for example. I think middle powers, such as Australia, have a role to play here as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Albanese will argue that a seat on the UN Security Council would give Australia greater influence over conflicts including Ukraine and the Middle East, while allowing it to push issues including AI, climate security, ocean protection and international law up the global agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hopes of Australians are the hopes of people everywhere \u2013 to live in peace and to build a better future,\u201d Albanese said.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralia played a pivotal role in the founding of the United Nations \u2013 because we have always understood how important it is for small and mid-sized nations to have their voices heard on the challenges facing our world.\u201d<\/p>\n Australia will point to its previous Security Council term in 2013 and 2014, when it worked on issues including accountability for the downing of MH17, humanitarian access, women, peace and security, and international peacebuilding. It has had a seat on the council five times, including holding the first Security Council presidency in 1946, and two-year terms in the 1950s, 1970s and the 1980s.<\/p>\n The Security Council has 15 members, including five permanent members \u2013 the US, Britain, China, Russia and France \u2013 and 10 non-permanent members elected for overlapping two-year terms.<\/p>\n Australia and Finland are so far uncontested for the two positions but still must secure two-thirds of members present and voting in the secret ballot. If all 193 countries vote, it would require at least 128 votes.<\/p>\n Related Article The campaign will be built around the slogan \u201cWe listen. We partner. We protect.\u201d A kangaroo features in the campaign logo and promotional material. Australia is seeking a seat for 2029 and 2030, with members to vote in June 2028.<\/p>\n A campaign brochure also highlights Australia\u2019s record in UN peacekeeping, saying more than 65,000 Australian personnel have served in more than 60 UN and multilateral peace and security operations since 1947.<\/p>\n Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Australia had a practical role to play as an \u201cactive and ambitious middle power\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cA safer world is one governed by rules, not power and force alone,\u201d Wong said.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralia\u2019s focus on the UN Security Council will be conflict prevention, the protection of civilians and defending the rules that protect us all.\u201d<\/p>\n The government will also use Australia\u2019s relationships in the Pacific and its role in climate negotiations to argue it can amplify the concerns of smaller nations, alongside its campaign on climate and ocean security. The campaign will also call for reform of the UN and uphold the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.<\/p>\n Albanese raised the need for international AI rules during his visit to California, where he met Apple executive chairman Tim Cook and the global technology giant\u2019s executive team.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralia\u2019s national interests are served by us engaging, by us recognising that there are risks which need to be mitigated,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is something that we will continue to pursue, and something that is common.\u201d<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Prime](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/8be32b842f701b6aaf641baca3e5c6efeccb66ed.jpeg\")
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Two-State Solution Conference at the UN in New York last year.Dominic Lorrimer<\/p>\n![\"Lindsay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789930455_351_1c716caa7b8d7fbb2953e47af0fcf5d82dbc0a3c.jpeg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789930457_957_2e2c563a2c883f4262123a6f31f663ad728622cdd079d5da02f3e6a34b3716fd.png\")
Rob Harris<\/a> is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 20, 2026 \u2014 10:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-899205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}