Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the outcomes of the G20 leaders' summit?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for her question. I know that she is interested in what happened at the G20 because she is interested in jobs and prosperity for Australian workers, including those in her own local community. Our economy is strong and one of the things very much reinforced for me, in travelling to the G20, was just how strong our economy is in an uncertain world. We can be very proud of the economy that the Australian people have built together. We can be very proud that we worked together as a government and a nation to come through the global financial crisis and ensure that our economy still has the benefit of growth and jobs.

When I was at the G20 there were two critical concerns at the table: first, the circumstances in Europe and particularly the eurozone and, second, and more generally, the uncertainty in the global economy. Though our economy is strong we are of course not immune to events in the global economy. A stronger and more resilient global economy is in Australia's national interest.

On the question of Europe, which caused so much concern at the G20, firstly, it was agreed that there needed to be a firm and resolute commitment to growth. There has been a debate about austerity and growth as if they were polar opposites. At the G20, both in the discussion there and during the lead-up, it became clear through discussion that we need a strategy for growth and fiscal discipline in Europe. That is what we have done here in Australia and there was a firm and resolute commitment to a strategy for growth and fiscal discipline in Europe as well.

Secondly, there were commitments on greater banking integration and greater fiscal integration to address the issues that Europe, and particularly the eurozone, faces now. Before the end of this month we will see another very important meeting of European leaders to address these issues of growth, fiscal discipline and further banking and fiscal integration. In addition there were discussions at the G20 about the global economy and ensuring that the necessary steps are taken to safeguard it. The single biggest outcome was significantly increased resources for the IMF—all up, $456 billion. In our nation we can be proud of the economy that we have built together; but these discussion at the G20 matter for the global economy and consequently they matter to us. I am pleased that progress was made at the recent G20 meeting.