Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

On the question of my conversation with the President of the United States, the Leader of the Opposition will be aware of my earlier answers—that is, that the purpose of my call to the President of the United States was to discuss the relevance of the G20 to the global financial crisis. Secondly, the President of the United States was entirely aware of the role of the G20. In fact, I would draw the honourable gentleman’s attention to a statement I think I made in this place prior to the publication of the article that he refers to where I said that the G20 meeting was also attended by President Bush, referring to a meeting which the finance minister was attending of G20 finance ministers in Washington. That was attended by the US President at the time. Furthermore, as I have said, and as the White House has said, any suggestion that the reported comment relating to the President of the United States not being familiar with the operation of G20 was never made and was never enacted.

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