Tony Abbott invokes Labor's beloved ‘light on the hill’ in speech to UN
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Version 0 of 1. Tony Abbott has invoked Labor’s beloved “light on the hill” to describe Australia’s place in the world in a speech to the UN. Making his inaugural speech to the UN general assembly, the prime minister drew inspiration from former Labor prime minister Ben Chifley’s famous 1949 speech. “One of our prime ministers once talked about our great objective – our ‘light on the hill’ as he put it – to work for the betterment of mankind, not just at home but wherever we can lend a helping hand,” Abbott said on Thursday. He said the world was wracked with problems – Isis, Russian aggression in Ukraine, Ebola, and economic stagnation – but all could be overcome. Australia, he said, would always play its part. “We’re strong enough to be useful but pragmatic enough to know our limits,” he told the half-full assembly chamber. “We have never believed that we can save the world single-handedly, but nor have we shrunk from shouldering our responsibilities.” He spoke of Australia’s pride at having contributed so much to UN peacekeeping and humanitarian missions over the institution’s 70-year history. He described the UN as “an imperfect instrument”. “Still, it’s better than ‘might is right’ and it gives good arguments the best chance to prevail,” he said. Abbott emphasised the importance of economic growth, saying it would not solve every problem but it would make many problems easier to tackle. “Richer people aren’t necessarily better people; but the problems of plenty are invariably easier to deal with than those of want,” he said. The prime minister could not resist pointing to his own government’s economic efforts, saying Australia wasn’t just preaching but trying to lead by example. He cited the abolition of the carbon and mining taxes, the approval of new infrastructure projects and the government’s plan to eliminate the budget deficit. The prime minister’s speech came a day after he addressed the UN security council on the terrorist threat posed by Islamic State foreign fighters. Abbott is also having one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Iraq, the Netherlands and Lebanon during his second day of talks on the UNGA’s sidelines. He is due to leave New York on Friday. |