Barnaby Joyce has warned Australian freedom could be challenged as China rises, with a more uncertain outlook for regional peace.
The deputy prime minister used his first coalition partyroom meeting since returning to the job to outline a "unifying cause" more important than any other issue.
Mr Joyce referred to the shift away from Pax Americana - a term describing relative peace after World War II in regions of the world with a strong US presence.
While China wasn't explicitly mentioned, he did point to a new superpower with different ways of seeing the world.
"The times that we live in are different to the times were were born into and certainly what our parents were born into," Mr Joyce told colleagues on Tuesday.
"Our liberties and freedoms that we took as a birthright and never really thought about in the future might be challenged like they never have before."
The Nationals leader noted the world was changing and backed a re-elected coalition government as the only clear choice to manage the global stage.
"We need to ensure that we give our children, our grandchildren, the strength and the liberties and the capacity to say what they like and the capacity to be what they want to be."
Mr Joyce is expected to take a tougher stance against China after earlier in the year describing the country's rise as a bigger future issue than climate change.
Australian Associated Press
