‘Not fit for purpose’: Albanese to deliver dramatic warning on world order

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to warn the global order established after World War II is “no longer fit for purpose” while pushing for Australia to shape what comes next.

He will declare expectations about the way the world works are being tested as institutions struggle to keep up with the changes.

“The world we live in is changing rapidly,” he will tell the Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards, where he is being honoured on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEST).

“Since the end of the Cold War, the prevailing assumptions of international affairs were clear: openness was security; efficiency mattered more than resilience; and international rules would be observed as a matter of course.”

The assumptions relied on expectations that the “post-1945 world order” would continue indefinitely and the “influence of the major democratic powers would remain largely unchallenged”.

“Both those expectations are now being tested,” Albanese will say.

“The post-1945 world order is no longer fit for purpose. Universal institutions that remain necessary are now not always sufficient for the challenges we face.

“Australia’s response to this is to actively seek to shape and build the order that replaces the old while preserving the rules that matter most and building the new partnerships, the relationships and the innovations required to deal with the challenges we face.”

Albanese met with a string of world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Netherlands Prime Minister Netherlands Rob Jetten, on the sidelines United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

His speech comes nine months after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a fellow “middle power” leader, declared the international order was facing “a rupture, not a transition”, in the face of increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump.

Since then, the US attack on Iran and resulting drawnout war have upended global supply chains in the most dramatic fashion since the pandemic.

Iran’s discovery that choking off the Strait of Hormuz could be its greatest military weapon has strangled global oil supply and sent petrol, diesel and jet fuel prices soaring around the world.

Australia, which imports about 90 per cent of its liquid fuel, has not been immune.

Albanese will say both war and the pandemic taught governments they must “build the capacity to withstand shocks they did not cause and cannot control”.

“Contemporary challenges are driving countries to place greater weight to resilience alongside efficiency — in critical minerals, in energy, in new technologies,” he will say.

“We have seen why: war and disruption can drive up energy prices and interrupt supply chains far beyond the conflict.”

His address is also hot on the heels of Trump reacting with disdain to a push by Albanese and 20 other world leaders to regulate artificial intelligence amid warnings it could wipe out humanity, and hours before the US president meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The meeting in Washington, DC, will be closely watched as the world’s leaders gather in New York for the UN.

Albanese’s speech will address the importance of both countries – “the anchor of Australia's foreign policy” and “our largest trading partner” – particularly when it comes to his own backyard.

“How Washington and Beijing manage their relationship matters profoundly. But it cannot be the only lens through which we see the region,” he will say.

“The Indo-Pacific is not a chessboard on which superpowers move the pieces. Its countries are not spectators.

“They are shaping its future and writing their own script.”

Albanese will also address climate change, calling it “the most immediate security threat” to Australia’s Pacific neighbours.

“In my five years as prime minister I have travelled throughout the Pacific. With my own eyes I have seen the impacts of climate change,” he said.

“They are real. And for some they are existential.”

Some of those neighbours, such as Tuvalu, have criticised Australia for not doing enough to fight climate change, particularly slamming its expansion of fossil fuel production.

The Global Citizen Awards recognise the “accomplishments of key global citizens seeking to improve the state of the world”.

Albanese will be recognised alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Formula 1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali, and Emmy-, Tony- and Grammy winning actress Cynthia Erivo.