As Australia considers how to respond to the invasion of Ukraine, the Nordic countries have shown how independent foreign policy is strengthened by consistent diplomacy, development aid and domestic economic management.

Queensland and Sweden may not appear to have much in common, but both are looking to use abundant renewable energy to drive regional development.

The Finnish Act on Transport Services frames transport as a whole system, rather than single and separate services – allowing public, active and shared transportation to compete with private vehicle ownership in terms of flexibility and convenience.

Iceland’s consolidated whistleblower legislation protects public & private sector whistleblowers. It came into force in 2021.

Finland has set the standard for national climate adaptation policy since 2005. Australia should look to Finland as a best-practice example.

Climate and energy. Work/life balance. Mining taxes. Progress on policy issues like these is essential, and yet they have become subject to the most rancorous partisanship, the precipitation of culture wars, and have brought down governments.

Foreign aid assistance by Nordic nations is amongst the most generous in the world. Policymakers are increasingly targeting that aid toward climate adaptation. In contrast, Australia’s aid programs remain dismally underfunded.  

Museums are key sites for climate change education, action and research. Oslo’s Klimahuset museum is a world-leading institution dedicated to communicating climate change.  

The Nordic Sami parliaments provide the indigenous people of Norway, Sweden and Finland with a voice in decisions affecting their communities. These parliaments provide an insight for attempts in Australia to provide a similar voice for Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

All new car sales in Norway will be zero-emissions vehicles by 2025. To achieve this goal, Norway has a comprehensive electric vehicle policy. Australia has no federal electric vehicle strategy or policies and no plan for the transition from ICE vehicles.