Deep doubt, for a time ... Bob Carr.

Showered with congratulations … Bob Carr. Photo: AP

WHAT ironies there are in Australia’s ascension to a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council!

Kevin Rudd, who as prime minister started the bid, must be privately screaming with frustration that, unless he can topple Julia Gillard, he’s not going to be a player in what Australia does with its time in the diplomatic spotlight. Maybe this will further spur his comeback effort.

Tony Abbott, sceptical about the bid and grudging in welcoming the result, seems likely to be the prime minister for more than half of Australia’s two-year term, which starts on January 1.

The Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, had deep doubt about the campaign for the seat until he found himself in the front line of it and is now showered with congratulations for its success.

And it’s on the watch of Gillard, who came to the leadership a novice in foreign policy, that Australia has clinched this prize.

The win is a good and timely one for Australia, which took a gamble. It might seem incomprehensible that it could be difficult to finish in the first two when the other countries were Luxembourg and Finland, but that is to misunderstand the nature and history of these contests. Officials were on tenterhooks until the end.

Australia did what it took to maximise its chances. The effort soaked up a bit of money – $25 million was just for the basics. But given how governments throw around dollars, the cost was not huge. It should also be admitted that the bid injected an extra political factor into our aid allocation and our diplomacy, in the intense effort to round up votes. Officials involved argue vigorously that this did not amount to a ”distortion” of Australia’s aid program.

As a middle power, active in major forums such as the G20 and East Asia Summit, it is desirable that Australia serves on the council, especially as it hasn’t done so since the 1980s.

Michael Fullilove, the head of the Lowy Institute, says council membership will ”give us extra leverage on every foreign policy front. This is where many of the biggest global issues will be thrashed in the next two years – why wouldn’t you want to be in the room?” But being in that room, Fullilove points out, will also require Australia to take stands on issues that it might otherwise avoid and, just when the focus is on the ”Asian century”, to have to turn its eyes everywhere.

Gillard noted that among the issues coming before the council that hold a special interest for Australia will be the future path in Afghanistan as the foreign troops come out. But this seat is not just about what’s directly relevant to us, or getting a return on our campaign dollars – it’s about being a good international citizen.

And that applies whichever side is in power. If the Coalition wins next year’s election, how it operates at the council will be one measure by which its foreign policy is judged. On international relations, it is time that Abbott started thinking as a future prime minister, and that includes the way in which he might use the council seat positively. As one observer says: ”If he gets elected, what a way to introduce himself to the world!”

Rupert Murdoch can be at his most gruff on Twitter, and Friday’s tweet was full of contempt about the win: ”Big deal! Australia gets temporary non-veto seat … No Aussies care”. Well, it’s worth caring.