Australia's UN seat bid enters final phase

14 Aug 2012, 5:14 pm   -   Source: AAP
Bob Carr says he agrees Finland is well-placed to win one of the two temporary seats available in Australia's category, which would leave Australia and tiny Luxembourg to duke it out for the other. (AAP)

Bob Carr says he agrees Finland is well-placed to win one of the two temporary seats available in Australia's category, which would leave Australia and tiny Luxembourg to duke it out for the other. (AAP)

Australia's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council is entering its final frantic stage.

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The federal government agrees its bid for a United Nations Security Council seat is ultimately likely to come down to a 50/50 contest between Australia and Luxembourg.

Two months out from the October vote, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says Australian diplomats and special envoys are staging a final blitz to try and win support from those nations still open to "persuasion".

Senator Carr says he agrees Finland is well-placed to win one of the two temporary seats available in Australia's category, which would leave Australia and tiny Luxembourg to duke it out for the other.

"It's very hard to predict, but that assessment is probably as good as any other speculation," Senator Carr told AAP on Tuesday.

"But when you've got 190 nation states and something of a gap between promised support and delivered support, it's hard to be precise."

Australia must win the support of two-thirds of the 193 UN member nations to secure a seat.

Despite sinking about $25 million into the campaign, Australia faces a particularly tough battle because former prime minister Kevin Rudd only launched the bid in 2008.

By comparison, Luxembourg has been campaigning since 2001 and Finland since 2002.

Luxembourg's bid is strong because it has never held a security council seat before. Australia has not held one since the 1980s.

"It is tough because we entered the race fairly late," Senator Carr said.

"But I've been very encouraged, very heartened by the level of support we've got."

New Zealand, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates are among the nations to publicly declare support for Australia's bid.

But given the voting will be conducted by secret ballot, it's impossible to say for sure how much support Australia can actually count on.

Government sources say Australia's teams in Washington DC and New York have been working incredibly long hours on the bid over recent months.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will try to drum up last-minute support at the Pacific Islands Forum and APEC over the next month.

She is also expected to state Australia's case at UN headquarters in New York City in September.

Senator Carr will also seek support from other Arab nations at an Arab League meeting in Cairo.

If Australia does win a seat, it will sit on the council for two years, starting in January 2013.

A date for the vote is still to be set.

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