734 Malcolm Turnbull and the UN

It is quite extraordinary that our conservative PM, Mr. Turnbull, endorses the UN ... it's well out of step with the prevailing conservative wisdom (espoused especially by Tony Abbott) that the United Nations are too bureaucratic and largely ineffective.

Nevertheless, it was former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam who said ...

“Australia must strive above all for the Parliament of Man,

the Federation of the World.

The ultimate security of our nation

and the ultimate survival of civilization alike demand it.”

I've always agreed and I have an essay UNITED NATIONS in my book with no title, instead three definitions for the term en.light.en.ment

From an article in the SMH, by Mark Kenny:

NEW YORK: A moderate Malcolm Turnbull has emerged on to the world stage as the great multi-lateralist, celebrating global progress in securing higher living standards while praising the usually maligned United Nations for successes on climate change, arms control, and refugee assistance.

In his first-ever address to its General Assembly in New York, Mr Turnbull has dispensed with the usual conservative coolness towards the UN's perceived ineffectiveness and encroachment on nation states, to laud its performance in solving complex international problems.

"In less than a generation, billions have been lifted out of poverty and billions more enabled to connect to each other and to a world of knowledge and ideas in a manner barely imaginable a generation ago," he said.

"Economic freedom between markets and within them, supercharged by the Internet, innovation and technology, have enabled the longest run of economic progress in the history of the world."

"Over the past five years, the UN system has produced a global Arms Trade Treaty, a pivotal global agreement on climate change, a transformational set of Sustainable Development Goals, and a global blueprint for disaster-risk reduction."

While Tony Abbott was dubious, Mr Turnbull is an unrestrained enthusiast, branding the UN's field presence in deprived and strife-torn areas, "hugely important work".

"Whether it be vaccinating children, helping subsistence farmers to improve their crop yields, facilitating democratic elections or delivering emergency humanitarian support, they demonstrate the approach we need to take as we face the challenges of the future," he said.

His address in many ways was in lock-step with the positions of the progressive Obama Administration …