The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Sydney

Australia's new government aims to take a more activist "middle power" role in global affairs, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said ahead of his first major trip abroad Thursday. In his maiden foreign policy address since sweeping to power in a November election landslide, the centre-left former diplomat outlined the thinking behind his 18-day trip to the United States, Europe and China. "The truth is that Australia's voice has been too quiet for too long across the various councils of the world," Rudd told the Australia National University's East Asia Forum on Wednesday night. "That is why during the course of the next three years, the world will see an increasingly activist Australian international policy in areas where we believe we may be able to make a positive difference. "The new Australian government is committed to the principle of creative middle power diplomacy as the best means of enhancing Australia's national interests," he said.