G20 set to deliver millions of jobs
Print Edition
AUSTRALIA’S prime minister vowed that world leaders would deliver on an initiative to add US$2 trillion to global GDP, promising freer trade and more investment in infrastructure as heads of the 20 largest economies began cementing plans to drag sagging growth out of the doldrums.
Tony Abbott, who has repeatedly promised this year’s Group of 20 gathering in the Australian city of Brisbane would be more than a talkfest, said the growth plans would add millions of jobs and boost global GDP by “more than 2 percent” above expected levels over the next five years.
“That is millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in extra production,” Abbott said as he officially opened the two-day G20 conference. “Yes, we want freer trade and we will deliver it. Yes, we need more infrastructure and we will build it.
“This is our message to the world: that governments can deliver, that governments can agree that the world can be better, that there can be higher jobs, higher growth and more jobs,” he added.
G20 nations, which represent 85 percent of the global economy, are under pressure to take definitive action at this year’s summit, rather than simply producing a set of vague, unmeasurable goals.
The International Monetary Fund has warned about a “new mediocre” for the world economy, putting renewed focus on the G20 growth initiative.
Each country is expected to present a comprehensive plan at the summit on how they will achieve their contribution toward the US$2 trillion goal, but whether the communique that will be issued at the conclusion of the gathering today will reveal any of those details is unclear.
World GDP this year is about US$77 trillion.
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said the group’s growth strategies include 1,000 measures that will lift infrastructure investment, increase trade and competition, cut red tape and increase employment.
“While we still face economic challenges in many parts of the world, I’m optimistic our 2 percent commitment will deliver the growth the world needs,” Hockey said.
However, rights groups such as The Civil Society 20 group, or C20, want assurances that the poor will benefit the most from the plans, estimating that the additional growth could lift a billion people out of poverty if it was poured into the poorest 20 percent of G20 households.
Before intensive talks could begin, however, leaders took time to enjoy a traditional Aussie barbecue at the state Parliament House, feasting on king prawns, oysters, lamb and pavlova, a popular meringue dessert generally served with fruit and whipped cream.
Several of the leaders’ spouses visited a wildlife sanctuary where they cuddled koalas and fed kangaroos.
Dignitaries were greeted by a traditional Aboriginal welcome ceremony, featuring singing, dancing and the solemn hum of a didgeridoo, before entering their first official closed-door meeting.
The leaders later issued a statement on the Ebola crisis in West Africa, urging countries that haven’t donated to efforts to combat the disease to do so now, and to send medical teams. The group also said researchers, regulators and drug companies needed to work harder to develop vaccines and treatments.
Outside the convention center where the summit is taking place, thousands of protesters braved the scorching heat and a labyrinth of roadblocks to stage rallies demanding everything from action on climate change to banning Russian President Vladimir Putin from the gathering.
The protests have been largely peaceful, with only a handful of arrests. Police were seen taking two gas masks and a pocket knife out of two activists’ bags before escorting them away. Knives and gas masks are on a lengthy list of banned items in the city during the summit that includes eggs, guns, kites and reptiles.
Six thousand police officers are on duty to maintain order, many pouring water on themselves to cope with temperatures expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius today.
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