A strange thing happens when world leaders go over their allotted speaking time in debates at the United Nations.
Standing before a huge auditorium of diplomats and politicians in New York, some of the most powerful people in the world fall suddenly silent. Down to the second, their microphones are unceremoniously shut off.
So it was as countries lined up to recognise Palestine’s statehood in New York on Monday. Required to keep to five minutes, the leaders of multiple countries went overtime, struggling to be heard in the huge general assembly hall.
A few kept going anyway. The leader of Angola got to the lectern only to realise he didn’t have any notes.
About 10th in the speaking order, Anthony Albanese appeared determined not to suffer a similar fate. He spoke at a steady clip, calling on the world to do the right thing by the desperate people in Gaza and urging Israel to end the fighting.
Interrupted by applause as he confirmed Australia now considered Palestine a sovereign and independent state, Albanese’s first ever speech to the UN was quite a moment.
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, watched on with members of the Australian delegation – conscious of the historic foreign policy shift she and Albanese had helped engineer. The Labor party’s national platform has called for recognition of Palestine for years and Albanese has been making speeches about it for decades.
Before the French president, Emmanuel Macron, gavelled the meeting into session, the prime minister mixed with fellow leaders, including Mark Carney of Canada, Pedro Sánchez of Spain and UN boss António Guterres. Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority addressed the meeting via video link, his officials denied visas to attend the UN by the White House.
Nearby seats for the United States delegation were empty as Albanese spoke. Donald Trump has rejected recognition and promised retaliation to countries breaking with Israel. Trump arrives at the UN on Wednesday, Australian time, with his speech expected to feature vituperation and invective. Other world leaders are getting on without the US, as Trump turns his country inwards, mostly looking overseas to picks fights.
But even before his arrival in New York, Trump managed to cast a shadow over Albanese’s visit.
The president’s press secretary confirmed no meeting with Albanese had been scheduled, making this the second time in a few months the PM has travelled to the US and not met the president.
The latest snub will be gold for the opposition and critics of the US alliance, even if the two leaders will probably shake hands at a reception for leaders on Wednesday night.
after newsletter promotion
The bureaucracy of the UN is as entertaining as it is ubiquitous. Crowd control pops up without warning, precedence reflects decades-old compromises and sky blue-clad diplomatic police roam the campus.
Albanese, who started the day with a walk in Central Park, was struck by Indonesia’s president Prabowo Subianto’s contribution to the two-state solution conference. The hardman leader offered to provide peacekeeping forces to Gaza and said the world’s most populous Muslim country would recognise Israel, if Israel recognised Palestine.
Roads around the UN are clogged with motorcades and law enforcement and scores of live TV crews are splayed out along the side of the East River. Trump’s arrival will clog things up even more.
Albanese’s last stop of the day was a bilateral meeting with his mate, Macron. The shoebox-sized French bureau had a clown car vibe as officials and media squashed in to cover the pair’s handshake. They discussed Gaza, Ukraine and Australia’s struggling bid to host the Cop31 climate talks next year.
Albanese’s major address to the general assembly is due on Thursday morning, Australian time, hours after Trump. Similar speeches have been delivered by every recent prime minister except Paul Keating, and it will be a significant moment for the incumbent.
Fortunately for Albanese, he won’t have to rush. Unlike usual UN business, the so-called national statement isn’t subject to a time limit, and the microphone will run live as long as he wants to speak.
