UN role for Australia

JULIE Bishop has hailed Australia’s landmark election to the UN Human Rights Council – even if it’s alongside a number of countries whose human rights records are “questionable at best”.

The Foreign Affairs Minister also defended Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers.

Australia joined the Council for the first time after it was elected in a landslide victory on Monday, joining Spain as a “Western European and other States” representative for the three-year term, replacing the Netherlands and Portugal. Also on the council are Saudi Arabia, China and Indonesia.