The Greens say Australia will be under increased scrutiny now that it's been granted a United Nations security council seat, so it's vital the nation meets its refugee obligations and addresses climate change.
Australia won a temporary seat on the security council after defeating competitors Luxembourg and Finland in a vote at the UN general assembly in New York.
Greens leader Christine Milne said being elevated to the top table on the world stage meant Australia would be expected to deliver on climate change, fix its refugee policy and help combat the global arms trade. But it will also be important to develop an independent voice, she says.
"Australians felt very uncomfortable by John Howard putting Australia as the deputy sheriff to the US," she said in Melbourne on Friday, adding that the recent ease in which US bases were added to Australian soil was also troublesome.
"The election to the security council really puts a lot of pressure on Australia to show we have an independent foreign policy."
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Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young welcomed the news, hoping it would encourage the government to stick by the refugee obligations to which it's a signatory.
"The world will now be watching, and Australia does have obligations to various UN conventions," she told reporters in Canberra on Friday. Senator Hanson-Young said the government and the opposition were locked in an auction to see how cruel they could be to some of the world's most vulnerable people.
The Coalition on Friday said under its border protection policy asylum seekers should expect to stay in offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island for about five years. "Indefinite detention is dangerous, and a minimum of five years is a recipe for disaster," she said.
Senator Milne said Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's reaction to the UN seat showed he had little interest in global talks.
"The only way we're going to strengthen global security ... is through a multilateral engagement and outlook, and clearly Tony Abbott is not up to it."
