Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has named Siobhan McKenna, a former News Corp executive, as Australia's next consul-general in New York, announcing the appointment while launching the nation's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. McKenna will replace Heather Ridout, whose four-year term expires in December, with a reported salary of approximately $350,000 according to reporting on the appointment.
The announcement came as Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to release the 2026 Intergenerational Report on Monday, which will outline forecasts for technological change, demographic shifts, and economic challenges facing Australia over the coming decades. The report arrives at a moment when the government is intensifying efforts to shape global policy on artificial intelligence and secure greater influence on international security matters.
Who is Siobhan McKenna?
McKenna brings extensive experience across both private and public sectors to the diplomatic role. She currently chairs Australia Post and has previously chaired the National Broadband Network. Her corporate background includes serving as chief executive of broadcasting at News Corp, where she worked closely with Lachlan Murdoch for an extended period.
When questioned about McKenna's history with the Murdoch organisation and whether the prime minister had sought assurances she would not continue to advance Murdoch business interests in her diplomatic capacity, Albanese responded by emphasising her professional credentials.
Siobhan McKenna is a professional, and she will do an outstanding job representing Australia and the Australian government here in New York. And the fact that she has experience in both the private sector and the public sector is a very good thing. I'm someone who supports people being appointed on merit. Siobhan McKenna has been appointed on merit.
What is Australia's UN Security Council bid?
Albanese launched a formal campaign for Australia to occupy a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for a two-year term in 2029 and 2030. Although voting for the position will not occur until mid-2028, the prime minister is using his current visit to New York for the UN General Assembly to intensify diplomatic lobbying efforts.
The prime minister argued that securing a council seat would allow Australia to shape global issues with direct bearing on citizens' daily lives.
Engagement with the world matters. It matters because it makes a difference to the cost of living, to inflation, to Australians' way of life. That is why we can't afford to not be engaged with the world, because it has a direct impact on the quality of life of Australians on a day-to-day basis. We have an opportunity through this potential seat on the UN Security Council to play a key role in shaping the global issues that really matter to Australians.
Australia has served on the security council five times since the United Nations was established following the Second World War, with the most recent term occurring in 2013 and 2014. During that earlier period, Australia led the international response to Russia's downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, an example Albanese cited as evidence of the nation's capacity to make meaningful contributions to global security matters.
Albanese indicated that Australia intends to play an active role in addressing Middle East tensions and other major conflicts.
We do need to stand up to the Middle East conflict. I think there is a role for middle powers to engage, and Australia has done that as we've engaged with the war in Ukraine in the coalition of the willing.
What does the Intergenerational Report reveal about Australia's future?
Treasurer Chalmers will present findings indicating that Australia faces a more fragmented and uncertain global environment over the coming decades, yet remains better positioned than comparable nations to navigate these challenges. The report projects that Australia's population will grow more slowly than previously forecast, reaching an estimated 39.3 million by 2065–66, representing 1.8 million fewer people than the previous report predicted. According to analysis of the report's projections, population growth is expected to slow to 0.9 per cent annually over the next four decades.
Much of the projected slowdown stems from declining fertility rates, as Australian women continue to have fewer children. Chalmers warned that the report was released at a time when global politics appeared unusually fraught and the future particularly uncertain.
The world is becoming more dangerous. More unpredictable. More unequal. And more divided. These are not just individual threads but part of a bigger fraying of that intergenerational promise of better times.
Despite these headwinds, Chalmers maintained an optimistic assessment of Australia's comparative standing.
Yet this IGR shows we are better placed than our peers in almost every regard. The global and generational risks are serious, but Australia's opportunities are endless.He noted that an intergenerational report had never previously been released during a period with politics as fraught or a future as uncertain as the present moment.
How will artificial intelligence reshape Australia's economy?
The intergenerational report identifies artificial intelligence as a transformative force with profound economic and social implications, though the specific impacts remain difficult to forecast at this early stage. Treasury's briefing material described AI as the first substantive and credible global productivity growth accelerant in almost two decades, signalling its potential significance for long-term economic performance.
The report acknowledges that while Australia is well-positioned to benefit from AI development, the technology's impact on many industries—particularly the labour market—remains too early to determine with confidence.
The economic and social implications of AI are expected to be profound but the specific impacts will depend on the evolution of the technology, how deeply and broadly AI is adopted, and how it will be used.
Australia has emerged as a leading global destination for data centre investment, with capital expenditure in this sector nearly doubling since the previous intergenerational report released in 2023. This expansion reflects growing international demand for computing infrastructure to support AI development and deployment.
What is Australia's approach to global AI governance?
While in California en route to New York, Albanese called for the United States and China to negotiate an artificial intelligence agreement modelled on principles established by the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. He compared the challenge of managing AI's global rollout to historical efforts to regulate world-changing technologies through international cooperation.
We want to see cooperation. We've seen that in the past with new technologies, even on nuclear weapons, for example, we saw agreements and protocols put in place through the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. So I think we want to see progress between those two countries, but … I think middle powers such as Australia have a role to play here as well.
The government is developing national AI standards legislation, with a target completion date of the end of 2026 for this framework. The standards are expected to address data centres and frontier model training, establishing guardrails for how advanced AI systems are developed and deployed within Australia. Earlier reporting indicated the government is preparing consultation on these national standards, reflecting the priority placed on establishing clear rules for the sector.
What happens next?
Albanese will remain in the United States this week for United Nations-related discussions, including meetings focused on global conflicts and artificial intelligence. Chalmers is scheduled to release the full 2026 Intergenerational Report on Monday at the Australian National University, marking the second such report released under the Albanese government.
Australia is expected to continue developing national AI standards, with the government working toward legislation that may be finalised by early 2027, depending on the pace of consultation and parliamentary processes. The nation's diplomatic campaign for the UN Security Council seat will intensify over the coming months as the 2028 voting date approaches.
What is the broader context for these announcements?
The government has previously identified artificial intelligence as central to productivity policy and copyright regulation, with Chalmers stating it would be front and centre in the intergenerational report. Treasury has cautioned, however, that while AI represents a major potential productivity boost, it cannot substitute for broader domestic economic reforms needed to address Australia's long-term challenges.
The timing of these announcements—the appointment of a new consul-general to a key diplomatic post, the launch of the UN Security Council bid, and the release of a major intergenerational report focused on AI and demographic change—reflects the Albanese government's effort to position Australia as an active participant in shaping global technology governance and international security matters during a period of significant geopolitical uncertainty.
