Australia secures re-election to governing Council of key UN telecommunication agency

The Hon Michelle Rowland MP
Minister for Communications

Senator Karen Grogan
Chair of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee

MEDIA RELEASE

Member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have re-elected Australia to the Union’s  governing Council.  

One hundred and eighty countries cast votes in the election which took place in Bucharest, Romania at the ITU’s  Plenipotentiary Conference, a major quadrennial conference.  

The ITU is the United Nations specialised agency that works with governments and industry to make decisions for  standardisation of the global communications networks. These standards underpin the technologies Australians use  every day.  

Australia has been an ITU Council member since 1959, having joined the Union in 1878, the same year the first  commercial telephone service was commissioned in Melbourne. Australia is committed to advancing and supporting  activities in each of the three sectors of the Union: the Telecommunication Development, Radiocommunication, and  Telecommunication Standardization bureaus.  

Following Australia’s election for a four-year term, we will seek to:  

• prioritise efforts to connect the unconnected with accessible, affordable and resilient connectivity

• continue to promote an inclusive, open and accountable ITU

• work collaboratively with all ITU members, to ensure the Union can meet the challenges arising from rapid
  changes in the global telecommunications landscape, particularly as nations work together to overcome the
  COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia is a top-10 financial contributor to the Union. Our membership on Council means we can still play a part aligning the ITU’s work, resources and priorities with the opportunities presented by ongoing digital transformation, benefiting regional partners, close neighbours, and, importantly, all Australians.

For more information on the International Telecommunication Union’s Plenipotentiary Conference, visit https://pp22.itu.int. 

Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:  

“This is a great outcome for Australia. Having a seat at the table allows us to shape outcomes that benefit our region  and neighbours and ensure key telecommunications decisions protect stability and prosperity in our region.  

“Australia’s re-election will provide the ITU Council a strong perspective on global and regional connectivity issues.  We look forward to collaborating with fellow Asia-Pacific member-states to ensure all views and needs are  considered by the Union, and we are committed to delivering a strong global telecommunications environment.” 

Quotes attributable to Senator Karen Grogan, Chair of the Senate Environment and Communications  Legislation Committee and part of Australia’s delegation to Romania:  

“Australia is proud of its longstanding involvement and heritage with the ITU, working in partnership to deliver  practical digital capacity-building and development projects, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.  

We are honoured to have been re-elected to this vital international organisation.”