Australia’s Foreign Minister Addresses UN at 80 Conference
- UNAA
- Oct 24
- 2 min read
24th October 2025
Australia’s Foreign Minister, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, delivered the Ministerial Address at our flagship conference “UN at 80: Shaping Our Future Together” held in Sydney on 22 October 2025.
You can read the full text of the speech here: Minister Wong’s Address – UN at 80 Conference
Why this was a defining moment
Senator Wong’s participation underlines the significance of this milestone event for the United Nations’ 80-year legacy and for Australia’s commitment to multilateral leadership. Her remarks connected directly with the core themes of our conference — peace, human rights, sustainable development and global cooperation — and offered a clear vision for how Australia intends to engage in the evolving world order.
Key points from the speech
Multilateralism is under strain, yet essential: Senator Wong highlighted that while the UN still “has unmatched convening power”, it faces serious headwinds — including a budget reduction of 30 per cent and declining confidence across its three pillars: peace & security, human rights, and development.
Middle powers must step up: Australia, as a middle power, commits to working harder within existing and emerging coalitions (including ASEAN, Pacific Islands Forum, G20, CANZ, MIKTA) to amplify its multilateral influence.
The UN must reform — with purpose: Senator Wong emphasised the need for the UN to be reformed not for reform’s sake, but so that it can deliver — especially in areas like humanitarian protection, health security, climate action and digital governance.
Australia’s agenda: purpose-driven engagement: The speech outlined Australia’s focus on ensuring the UN delivers global public goods — such as peace, development, and rights protection — and that smaller and vulnerable states are not left behind.
A call to our community: Senator Wong concluded by inviting all Australians — and particularly the members and supporters of the United Nations Association of Australia, NSW Division — to play a part in shaping the future of the UN, recognising that “the UN won’t change if we don’t change”.
What this means for you
Attendees at the conference were able to hear directly from one of Australia’s senior decision-makers about our national priorities in a time of global turbulence.
The speech affirms the critical role of our member community, partners and volunteers in advancing the UN values — aligning with our conference theme “Shaping Our Future Together”.
The themes raised by Minister Wong will shape our post-conference work, partnerships and advocacy for the next three years — especially in the areas of governance, development and youth engagement.
We thank Senator Wong for her thoughtful and timely address, and we look forward to building on her vision in the weeks and months ahead.
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