Check against delivery.
To my valued friend and former colleague Senator Michaelia Cash,
Your President Heather Smith,
Distinguished guests, Friends all,
Thank you for your invitation to speak at this Australian Institute for International Affairs National Conference to share some reflections on the future of multilateral institutions as we navigate an uncertain and challenging global environment.
The world’s challenges are multiplying, yet our capacity to confront them together is increasingly tested.
The very principles that underpinned the post-war multilateral order—dialogue, trust and collective problem-solving—are facing strains we could scarcely have imagined even a decade ago.
From geopolitical fragmentation to the rapid pace of change, the landscape we navigate is at the same time more complex and more interconnected than ever.
And the institutions designed to steward international co-operation are under pressure to adapt—or risk irrelevance.
We are indeed meeting at a time of profound change,
Change in long-term growth prospects, due to comparatively weak investment and low productivity growth across advanced and emerging economies over the past two decades,
Change in demographics, with population ageing transforming our labour markets, pension and social care systems, and putting public finances under significant strain around the world,
Change in technology, including AI, which presents exciting opportunities for growth, innovation, efficiency and better public services, but which comes with new and evolving risks and potential disruptions that need to be managed,
Changes across economies and societies driven by the impacts of climate change and the need to respond to it more effectively and in a more coherent way at a global level.
And indeed, changes in global patterns of trade with a rise in protectionism, alongside concerns about unfair trade practices, an unlevel playing field, security of supply and economic security and in that context the broader questioning of the benefits of open markets and rules based global trade.
In response to all of this change, the multilateral system which, for decades, has underpinned stability, prosperity, and co-operation across borders, will need to adapt,
The fact is that multilateralism, has never been easy – in that it requires national governments accountable to national electorates, to be able to compromise in pursuit of finding effective solutions to broader and shared global challenges.
And multilateralism was never meant to be static.
It is meant to evolve — to serve societies as they change and to embody the values that unite us across borders.
And that renewal is needed now more urgently than at any time in recent history.
What this means, first and foremost, is we need to restore trust and confidence in the capacity of multilateral institutions to deliver tangible positive results for people.
At a time when global trust is thinning, international co-operation must demonstrate impact—through fairer open and rules-based trade, through shared growth, digital connectivity and pathways to net-zero that are both globally effective and fair.
From our perspective at OECD we seek to support this renewal by championing openness, evidence-based data driven approaches, and partnership and co-operation.
And the multilateralism of the 21st century will need to be globally more inclusive—reflecting not only the voices of advanced economies, but also those of emerging and developing partners.
Answers to the challenges related to the digital divide, supply chain resilience and the green transition cannot be solved by a few, they will need to be worked through by the many.
That is why OECD enlargement and deeper engagement with non-Member countries are a strategic imperative for our Organisation.
Renewal also means innovation—in how institutions work and how they are held accountable.
We must harness data and technology to improve policy transparency, integrate new disciplines and place citizens at the heart of our measurement frameworks.
The OECD was born out of crisis and built for co-operation. Today, we stand once again at a crossroads. Our mandate—to promote better policies for better lives—remains as vital as ever. But achieving it now requires a new social contract of trust: among nations, between governments and citizens, and across generations.
We will continue to equip policymakers with the foresight, evidence, and peer learning they need to navigate uncertainty. And we will do so guided by the belief that multilateralism is not just a diplomatic arrangement, but a choice—a choice to believe that what unites humanity is more powerful than what divides it. Each of these issues transcends borders, and each requires co-ordinated efforts grounded in trust, transparency, and shared responsibility.
The OECD’s story is, at its core, a story of international multilateral co-operation in difficult times.
In 1948, our predecessor, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, was created to administer the Marshall Plan and support Europe’s post second world war reconstruction.
It helped rebuild shattered economies, fostered collaboration among former adversaries and laid the foundations for peace and prosperity.
After the OEEC became the OECD in 1961, its membership progressively expanded beyond Europe to include countries from around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and others.
Shared values brought these countries together and remain the foundation for our work today.
A shared commitment to the preservation of individual liberty, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and market-based economic principles.
Today the OECD stands as a unique international intergovernmental organisation bringing together of 38 broadly like-minded, market-based democracies.
There is strong interest from other market-based democracies to join our Organisation – with currently eight further countries in the OECD accession process – including Indonesia and Thailand as Southeast Asia’s biggest and second biggest economies.
Our mission is simple: to help governments develop and implement better policies for better lives.
Objective data and evidence-based analysis are the basis of our work – and indeed key to our ability to foster productive, results-oriented multilateral co-operation.
We share best practices and support mutual learning,
We enable technical policy co-operation that helps expand business opportunities, save taxpayer resources and enhance policy effectiveness,
We provide a platform for frank, open, constructive dialogue, both among our Members and between our Membership and partner countries around the world.
We set standards across the broad spectrum of economic, social and environmental policies – which help to underpin the rules based international system.
Importantly, we make decisions by consensus.
While the global policy environment is more complex and challenging than it has been for decades, the good news is that we continue to see a strong desire among our Members and partners to come together and talk through our issues.
The OECD’s work covers nearly every area of economic and social policy.
This includes promoting well-functioning global markets and a level playing field with a rules-based trading system in good working order.
Our most recent Economic Outlook launched in September shows that despite high policy uncertainty, the global economy has continued to be remarkably resilient throughout the first half of this year, with annualised growth of 3.2%.
However, looking ahead, the data points to slowing momentum in industrial production, labour markets and both consumer and investor confidence.
We project global growth to soften to 2.9% this year, while to that outlook remain on the downside.
Rising trade barriers or prolonged uncertainty could weigh further on investment, consumption and hence growth.
Constructive dialogue between countries remains a key priority.
Open markets deliver real benefits: stronger growth, higher incomes, more and better choices, lower costs and better living standards.
But we must also acknowledge some of the genuine and legitimate concerns that have been raised about aspects of how international trading arrangements are operating in practice.
A fair and stable global rules-based trading system must find better ways to address imbalances and distortions, to deal with unfair trade practices and tackle supply chain vulnerabilities while keeping markets open.
To ensure secure and reliable global supply chains and strengthen economic security while driving stronger growth and increased opportunities for people around the world.
Our strong advice to all Governments is to work harder, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to find the best possible ways to make our international trading arrangements fairer and function better, in a way that preserves the economic benefits of open markets and rules-based global trade.
To avoid, in the middle of legitimate concerns and reform considerations, to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
It is also in this context that we have urged continued support for the central role of the World Trade Organisation as an important multilateral organisation.
The WTO has the job to maintain a fair, non-discriminatory, open, stable and rules based international trading system.
Yes, it is in need of reform, but we should pursue those reforms of and with the WTO to more effectively address some of the key challenges in front of us.
The OECD as an international organisation bringing – the G7 and 31 other market based democracies from around the world together can play an important part in this as a platform offering unique data, analysis and tools to underpin a constructive reform dialogue.
On reforms to more effectively tackle unfair trade practices and to strengthen supply chain resilience while keeping markets open.
For example, our Manufacturing Groups and Industrial Corporation (MAGIC) database helps improve transparency and inform an evidence-based response to trade distortions by providing data on government subsidies,
And our OECD Supply Chain Resilience Review provides unique evidence and insights on trade dependencies.
Our analysis identifies opportunities to address supply chain concentration by diversifying import and export markets, lifting barriers to trade and enhancing supply chain flexibility by cutting red tape and making customs procedures more efficient.
Towards this, Australia has set a fine example to others, abolishing around 500 tariffs last year, and announcing plans to abolish around 500 more.
These moves benefit Australian consumers, business and the economy more generally.
They also send a powerful signal globally on Australia’s continued support for open markets and rules-based trade.
Beyond trade, the OECD continues to support effective multilateral co-operation:
On reviving productivity growth, by supporting peer learning and experience sharing on policy measures to boost business dynamism and competition – fostering innovation, reducing policy fragmentation, streamlining regulation, and equipping workers with the skills needed in our evolving labour markets.
On ensuring the safe, secure and trustworthy adoption of AI and other digital technologies, through our landmark AI Principles which support interoperable governance frameworks using sound, risk-based approaches and respect for human rights, and our Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence which helps countries implement them.
On promoting globally more coherent and more effective climate action – through our Inclusive Framework for Climate Mitigation Approaches (IFCMA), which brings together the 38 OECD Member countries with a further 22 partner countries from around the world to help optimise the global impact of emissions reduction efforts in individual jurisdictions through better data, information sharing and evidence-based mutual learning and multilateral dialogue.
These are just a few examples of how the OECD supports member and partner countries with evidence-based advice and policy recommendations to tackle key structural global challenges and priorities.
In closing,
The world is navigating a period of economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and technological transformation.
The case for co-operation has never been more important.
At the OECD, we remain committed to our founding mission – helping governments make evidence-based choices, promoting dialogue grounded in trust, and supporting the co-ordination of policy approaches to ensure the global economy of the future is strong, resilient, sustainable and inclusive.
Working together — with Australia and with partners around the world — we can ensure multilateralism remains fit for purpose in the twenty-first century and continues to drive shared progress and prosperity.
Thank you.
Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to preserve individual liberty and improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.