Your Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, and Lady Sandra Williams. The Right Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and Minister Maria Browne. Your Excellencies, Heads of Government and Heads of Delegation. The Honourable Shirley Botchwey, Commonwealth Secretary-General. It is a great pleasure to be here in Antigua and Barbuda. And to join friends from ac...
Your Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, and Lady Sandra Williams. The Right Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and Minister Maria Browne. Your Excellencies, Heads of Government and Heads of Delegation. The Honourable Shirley Botchwey, Commonwealth Secretary-General. It is a great pleasure to be here in Antigua and Barbuda. And to join friends from across the Commonwealth. This means friends from every continent, many cultures and multiple faiths. We are brought together by shared history—but even more importantly by a shared world and a shared future. This makes our democratic family a great forum to share ideas and learn from each other’s experiences. Given we collectively represent a third of the world’s population, it’s a place where our shared ideas can make a genuine difference. Good ideas driven by innovative thinking are sorely needed right now. This shared world of ours is under considerable pressure. With military conflict, economic uncertainty, climate change and now rapidly evolving technologies combining to cause rapid transformation. How should we respond? The starting point lies in the values we share as members of the Commonwealth. Championing international law and democracy and supporting the right of all countries, big and small, to be heard. We must do all we can to strengthen democracy. In Australia we celebrate our robust electoral system. This includes our well-resourced and independent Australian Electoral Commission, our preferential voting system, and compulsory voting. Just as importantly, Australians view voting not just as a right but as a responsibility. Not just to each other but to generations to come. In the current global political environment, we must do more than celebrate our democratic institutions and habits—and we must strengthen them. This is why Australia is proud to support Commonwealth democracy initiatives including election observation missions and governance reform programs. We also have to respond to the changing tone of our national debates. Across the world, political polarisation is reducing social cohesion, placing additional pressures on democratic processes. Workers in all jobs are feeling this, as the emotional temperature of our societies rise. Threats against elected representatives are also increasing, especially against women. And inevitably, some of these threats have been followed through. Serving and former parliamentarians have been injured and even murdered. Just a fortnight ago, an Australian member of the House of Representatives, Dr Helen Haines, was attacked, suffering grievous injuries. She remains in a serious condition. It has brought home to us the urgent need to protect our elected representatives, so they can continue to do their jobs. Australia therefore strongly supports the calls being made at this Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to make those who serve our democracies safer from harm. Crucially, we must assist smaller nations to develop the democratic, economic, social and climate resilience they need to build a peaceful and prosperous future. It is important to remember that many of those most vulnerable to the rising tide of change – in many cases, literally – live in smaller and less developed countries. This is certainly true in Australia’s neighbourhood, the Pacific, as well as here in the Caribbean. As I outlined in my address to the United Nations General Assembly in September, Australia is responding to global uncertainty by: amplifying the voices of small states and middle powers, working to prevent crises, resolve conflicts and protect civilians, and elevating relationships that help to build sovereign capability. This is the approach Australia would bring to the United Nations Security Council, should our candidacy for a seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2029–30 be successful. It will be the same approach we bring to this forum: Listening with respect to all members. Partnering with them as equals. And protecting what matters most. In this spirit, we believe the Commonwealth can be a strong and united voice for peace and the re-establishment of world trade. The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are not only taking a tragic toll in human life, they are also having a devastating impact on the global economy. Returning our nations and our world to the path of prosperity and rising living standards requires an end to those wars. Australia has been consistent in our calls for Russia to end its illegal invasion of Ukraine, for a Middle-East ceasefire, and for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen and restore the freedom of navigation and trade. Free and fair trade provides the stability all nations need to flourish. It matters to every one of our economies and Australia will always strongly support it. We must also champion global partnerships between nations across a wide range of emerging issues. Creating economic resilience for our members states is about more than just free and fair trade. It requires wide-ranging cooperation—especially in times of uncertainty, like now. That is why Australia is investing more than ever in new partnerships to: support economic resilience, grow the private sector and trade improve maritime security, advance climate action, and guide the safe adoption of emerging technologies. Australia supports the principle that humans must stay in control over the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. We believe in the potential of artificial intelligence to help unlock scientific breakthroughs, raise living standards, and improve the way people work and do business. AI is here to stay. We can choose to shape it or let it shape us. Being created by humans, AI must be controlled by humans for the benefit of humanity. As His Majesty King Charles said in his September speech at Dumfries House: "The task before [us] is not merely to advance technology, but to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity, community and the natural world.” His Majesty also asked whether a shared set of principles could be developed to help guide the future application of AI for human benefit. Australia agrees and has been an early mover in this field, setting clear expectations of the role technologies play in our lives and expectations on companies providing them to us. These include: Our Social Media Minimum Age – which places the onus on platforms, not parents, to ensure that under 16s are not accessing them, and given children back their childhoods. Our Digital Duty of Care legislation – currently before the Australian Parliament – which places the onus upon tech companies to ensure their products and services are safe for individuals and society. And our Australian AI Standards – to ensure AI infrastructure is being built sustainably, in ways that work for communities and the economy, and grows our own capabilities With algorithms contributing to increasing anger, division, misogyny, and violence in our societies, and rogue nations using AI to spread disinformation and misinformation across national boundaries and interfere in elections, regulating the digital world has become a crucial issue of national sovereignty and democracy. Australia is proudly forging a path, with the hope others will follow. My final point is the need for each of our countries to make a positive contribution to tackling climate change. Australia understands that for many member countries, climate change is an existential threat. We are playing our part in tackling climate change domestically. Our domestic emissions targets are ambitious, but achievable. We are modernising our energy system. Australians have become world leaders in home battery installation. And since my government came to office, we have added enough wind and solar capacity to power six million households. But we know we have a role to play on the world stage, too. Our Pacific family is at the frontline of climate change. So, we are backing Pacific-led solutions. Including the Pacific Resilience Facility—the first Pacific-led regional financing mechanism. We are also working with our partners to scale renewable energy markets, so our region can electrify. Above all, we’re listening. We are determined to elevate Pacific voices. Which is why we are working with Türkiye to increase the voice and visibility of Pacific nations in the COP31 proceedings. Our promise to the nations of the Pacific has been clear: You will not face the climate crisis alone. Friends, Australia has a proud history of engagement with the world—in the Asia-Pacific, in the Commonwealth, and in the United Nations, where we hope to serve on the Security Council. As I have outlined here today, we always listen with respect, partner as equals, and protect what matters most: Our people. Our planet. And the rules that keep us all safe. We will always be a reliable, practical and transparent partner. Though we are living in volatile times, our approach will always be positive and proactive. We believe in seizing and shaping this world moment. And we want to stand with you – as friends and partners – to tackle the big issues together and build something better together. Thank you.
Speech Brief