 Your new post is loading...
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Top Stories The G20 isn’t the meeting where world leaders dress up in national costume (that’s APEC) and a Sherpa doesn’t carry everyone else’s bags... Access to Islamic finance helps integrate Muslims into capitalist societies. Dr Jikon Lai The US says 'we need to step up', but Australia says the focus should remain on growth and jobs. Cathy Harper
'Shirt-fronting' controversy aside, the real question is whether Russia's President should attend the G20. Prof Leslie Holmes Equitable and sustainable economic growth can only be achieved through investment in water infrastructure. Anna Kosovac The G20 includes the largest economies in the world. Per capita, however, each country differs remarkably. Care must be taken not to marginalise emerging economies. Yoshiji Nogami. Could multinationals be forced to pay tax on their global operations? Prof John Freebairn Developing countries are missing out on crucial revenue. Claire Spoors The G20 has been tested over the political tension in Ukraine. Bruce Jones G20 friendships will be tested by the Islamic State group. Dr Denis Dragovic It wouldn't be in the G20's interests to exclude Putin. Leonard Krasny The G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ meetings are just a big show. Prof Jeff Borland Australia likes to think it's a 'middle power'. And so it should. Heath Pickering Australia should include climate change on the G20's official agenda. Prof Don Henry Pages
Top Stories Civil society wants the G20 to succeed. Tim Costello Who's coming and how much will it cost? Find out here. Which G20 economies have prospered and which haven't since the G20's inception in 2008? Who is the most and least corrupt of the G20 members? Have a look at our graph. The G20 is not the best forum to discuss the latest IPCC report. Sophie Mirabella Four reasons you should care about the G20. Cathy Harper New and old faces at the G20. Which leaders have been to the most and least G20 summits? Heath Pickering Update: Find out more here about the alliances and divisions within the G20 in relation to IS. Narendra Modi could be one of the key players. Pradeep Taneja If corruption was an industry it would be the world’s third largest. The G20 must act. Transparency International Australia There've been some memorable gaffes by leaders in relation to the G20. Charis Palmer Calls to address Ebola and weak health systems in West Africa are getting louder. Professor Barbara McPake How well does each G20 country perform on key economic indicators? See our table for all the data. The G20 accounts for around 4/5 of the world economy. Our chart unpacks each member state's countribution.
Should global economic issues be discussed without any reference to human rights? Maya Borom Pages
Australia needs stronger emission reduction targets than are currently being discussed. Prof Don Henry The G20 needs to build a new structure of tax rules that establish taxation at a base rate for multinationals. Prof Miranda Stewart The C20 calls on leaders to make sure growth is not just for its own sake. Joanne Yates Australia has resumed its role as a laggard state with dangerously disproportionate influence on global climate affairs. A/Prof Peter Christoff National political obstacles stand in the way of implementing reforms for growth. A/Prof Mark Crosby How can we judge the importance and success of the Brisbane Summit? Bill Scales Our special correspondent at the G20 Summit, Nicholas Reece, analyses the Leaders' Communique. The G20 wants 100 million more women in the paid workforce. That's just part of what's needed. Melissa Conley Tyler As the leaders fly out, Australia declares the 2% growth target is achieveable. Cathy Harper G20 leaders have released the 2014 G20 Leaders' Communiqué. Download. Want to know what really happens behind the pomp and ceremony? Check out our pictures from behind the scenes at the G20. How well does each G20 member rate in managing unemployment at home? Heath Pickering and Roselina Press We can't assume that growth will result in jobs and less poverty. Prof Anthony D'Costa It's the most important meeting Australia has hosted and a lot of people want to get their voices heard. Roselina Press and Heath Pickering Sometimes the protests at G20 Summits are more memorable than the meetings themselves. Click here to see our photo essay. Roselina Press Pages
C20 Sherpa Joanne Yates reflects on the C20′s engagement and outcomes in the G20 process under the Australian Presidency:
A G20 Report Card
Never before has Australia been more at the heart of global affairs. We have in 2015 simultaneously held the Presidency of the G20 and the Chair of the UN Security Council.
Now that the G20 leaders have presented their communiqué and we have handed over the G20 hosting role to Turkey, we can reflect on how well it did in achieving its task to focus on global growth, boosting economic resilience, creating jobs and strengthening global institutions.
Established as a Leaders’ forum in 2008 to respond to the global economic crisis, the G20 is designed to focus on key and pressing issues of macro-economic significance and criticality. It is not meant to be an alternative forum to the UN, or a substitute for a number of other global and multilateral forums, some of which participate in its meetings. But it can provide momentum to issues that have stalled in these forums, or which otherwise require urgent attention.
The IMF and OECD assist the G20 with its work and the rest is up to leaders to build relationships, keep lines of communication open, and build the consensus necessary to agree to outcomes. After that, is the sell to their constituencies, where any real implementation of the agenda occurs.
Was it a Success?
The overwhelming commentary is that the G20 was a success. At the Finance Ministers’ meeting in February this year, the G20 set itself a goal of increasing economic growth at two percent above the trajectory set by the IMF in October 2013. This set a new benchmark for both galvanising action and creating a mechanism by which the G20 could be kept to account. The other interesting outcome was that there was consensus amongst the civil society, labour and business engagement groups to this goal.
But this is where we diverge in our approach.
Civil society – through the C20 Steering Committee – believes the type of growth is crucial and must ensure inclusive, balanced and sustainable outcomes. This is at the core of our work.
With the global economy remaining fragile, we need to do more than grow equity and share markets. We also need to create quality jobs, improve wages growth and ensure the incomes of the bottom 20 percent of households improve too.
In short, growth for its own sake is not an outcome we could endorse.
That is why detailed scrutiny is required of the Australian government’s growth and employment plans. It’s simply not okay to submit election promises and promote these as new initiatives to stimulate growth, especially when they are measures that have failed to pass the Senate. Inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders is also required. Growth plans are the start of a process, not the end.
The C20 is encouraged by the setting of a target to improve the participation rate of women in the workplace by 25 percent by 2025.
This will be a challenge for some nations, such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, and for developing nations where the ‘black market’ workforce remains significantly high. But it will focus attention on the structural reforms required to address women’s caring roles, including the adequacy and affordability of child and aged care infrastructure, parental leave, flexible work practices and investment in service industries where women predominate.
Social safety nets will still be required and we must ensure that this target is not used by some governments to force women into paid work. It will also challenge social and legal practices underpinning women’s economic independence, including property and land ownership rights and the pressing issue of violence against women. And while we are encouraged about commitments to youth employment, setting a target should also have applied. This is something the Turkish Presidency would be wise to consider.
The Australian Presidency also successfully pressed the importance of infrastructure as a vehicle to drive growth, job creation and productivity.
Again, civil society, labour and business groups supported this approach and we agree that the establishment of the Global Infrastructure Hub (designed to promote good practice about private and public infrastructure investment) is a sensible approach, particularly with its four year operating timeframe.
However, the Australian Government needs to seize the opportunity to include civil society in the governance arrangements for this centre of excellence. We can all cite examples of unneeded bridges leading to nowhere and communities and the environment being trammeled at the expense of a project. The only way to formulate strong public policy solutions to an issue such as this, is to build effective collaboration between government, the private sector, organised labour and civil society.
The decision by the G20 to tackle corruption and address the immoral practice of aggressive tax minimisation through tax havens is also an issue about which civil society has been a loud and long standing advocate. It’s encouraging to finally see action on international taxation rules, though still more needs to be done to include developing countries in decision making and standards setting.
There is still work to do to convince the OECD and others that corporate information should be made public, rather than being secretly retained by tax authorities. Requiring information about the owners of companies to be declared, will also impact on the illicit flows of money around the globe to terrorists and the like.
As we know, the G20 agenda was completely overrun by the discussion about climate change.
For the entirety of the Australian Presidency, the C20 called for climate change to be a stand-alone item on the G20 agenda. We were encouraged and enthused by the announcement at APEC by the US and China to a game-changing deal to place a target on emission reductions.
This will require a new way of doing business. It will change investment in coal and renewable energy and will positively impact on poverty reduction and inclusive and sustainable growth. Climate change mitigation is a key and pressing macro-economic issue which many of our C20 members witness firsthand in their work.
The G20’s commitment to ensuring strong outcomes from the UNFCCC in Paris at the end of 2015 is encouraging. But it is disappointing that this outcome was not led by Australia, especially while it had the Presidency. If only Australia had followed the example of other G20 nations and listened to the voices of other engagement groups in addition to business, this damaging isolation might have been avoided.
A Missed Opportunity
In saying that, how was the overall level of engagement with the C20 and the other formal engagement groups?
Whilst the Australian G20 President proclaimed in the days leading into the Summit that engagement groups like the C20 had enjoyed unprecedented levels of access to the process, this is a relative comparison; the process was certainly less than equitable.
The Presidency invited mainly business representatives to the Leaders’ reception in Brisbane. Business was invited, in the form of Rupert Murdoch, to address Finance Ministers in Washington(at which the B20 Sherpa from both Australia and Turkey were present), but no similar courtesy was extended to the C20, or the others. The B20 had a formal dinner with G20 leaders in Brisbane and were also registered as formal delegates at the G20 Summit. By comparison, civil society delegates were only afforded passes to the media centre.
This is not to deny business these access opportunities. We think it entirely appropriate that government consults with stakeholders. But is does highlight and confirm the proximity of business to this Government’s agenda, and an unwillingness to draw on the diversity of knowledge and experience available through the different engagement groups. It will be hard for any government to deliver on inclusive growth outcomes if it fails to involve all stakeholders equally in the process.
However, a positive reflection must be made of the Prime Minister’s address by on Sunday afternoon. It was remarkable (and pleasing) to have our language about inclusive growth reflected in both the PM’s speech and in the communique confirming that people should be at the centre of the G20’s decision making. ‘[P]eople right around the world are going to be better off and that’s what it’s all about: it is all about the people of the world being better off through the achievement of inclusive growth and jobs’.
Looking Ahead
Although the C20 is in its infancy, we have clearly made an impact on the Brisbane Summit and our networks can be justifiably proud of our advocacy.
As we remain part of the Troika and beyond, there is little doubt our contribution to the G20 would be enhanced if there was a more formal process for deep and thorough participation in future G20 processes and meetings.
We know we will need to work hard to continue our legacy in Turkey (which has already outlined its agenda) and thereafter in China. But this G20 in Australia has certainly provided a starting point. It has demonstrated to all G20 nations, the positive contribution civil society can make to both the process and to shaping stronger outcomes, both of which have not gone unnoticed.
Joanne Yates
C20 Sherpa
A shortened version of this article first appeared on www.G20Watch.edu.au
November 16, 2014
A downloadable copy of the C20′s response to the G20 Leaders’ Communique can be found here
The C20 Response:
The Australian C20 welcomes the commitment by the G20 Leaders to a two percent growth target above projection, but believes that the type of growth is crucial and must ensure inclusive, balanced, strong and sustainable outcomes.
We are concerned that the global economy remains fragile. We are also concerned that there are many interrelated factors contributing to the fragility of the global economy that need to be urgently addressed by the G20 if the economy is to regain its stability and strengthen its resilience. The only way to address these challenges and to formulate strong public policy solutions is to build effective collaboration between government, the private sector, organised labour and civil society. We must work together to achieve inclusive, strong, sustainable and balanced growth; growth which is jobs-rich and which provides improved living standards for all, but especially the poorest in our communities.
Each nation’s own country growth strategy must deliver measurable growth in the incomes of the bottom twenty percent of households. We commend action to improve growth and create jobs as part of the Brisbane Action Plan; a Plan which must support social and economic development, produce quality jobs and ensure inclusive growth, and reduce poverty and inequality.
The C20 welcomes the G20 commitment to take strong and decisive action to address inequality and reduce poverty in order to deliver on inclusive growth. Inequality must be addressed as a core issue. Efforts must be supported by dialogue with all engagement groups on an equal basis.
Acting Together to Lift Growth and Create Jobs
Leaders need to do more to address the structural and chronic unemployment levels plaguing all nations by raising participation and creating quality jobs in the formal sector, particularly for women and young people. We endorse the commitment to the 25/25 participation target for women, but encourage Leaders to take additional action to improve the income gap between men and women. Implementation of both these measures will reduce inequality and poverty.
We are disappointed that the G20 has not agreed to a similar target to improve the participation rate of the 600 million young people across the globe who are disengaged from the economy. Investment is urgently required in quality apprenticeships, in addition to commitments on education and training, including for in new and emerging work types. We welcome the elevation of the employment taskforce to a working group and encourage the G20 to deep engagement with engagement groups on it.
The C20 encourages work to continue on addressing structural and long term unemployment by strengthening labour markets and ensuring strong and effective social and legal protection systems, including taking action on indentured and child labour. The C20 encourages all nations to adhere to and respect ILO rules and increase efforts to improve the social conditions of all employed people, particularly those in developing nations whose working conditions remain poor and precarious.
The C20 endorses the G20’s emphasis on the growth potential of infrastructure, and the additional and much needed investment in productivity enhancing infrastructure to lift growth and create jobs. Leaders’ commitment to both public and private sector infrastructure investment is welcome, but we restate our caution for a preference for PPP investment models and risk transfers from the private to the public sector. We support efforts to increase finance available to small and medium enterprises, particularly those which support investment in women’s and young peoples’ entrepreneurship.
The proposal for the establishment of the Global Infrastructure Hub appears to be a positive step. However, the C20 notes that arrangements for the Hub remain opaque and its benefits unclear. We are deeply disappointed that Leaders have not committed to include civil society or organised labour in its network proposal to share knowledge between government, the private sector, institutional investors, development banks, and international organisations. The Hub should foster collaboration amongst all these groups to improve infrastructure investment. Infrastructure proposals must be based on internationally agreed standards, including high environmental and social performance standards with strong accountability and transparency mechanisms. The G20 should continue its work to ensure positive infrastructure investment for developing nations, supplemented by the new Global Infrastructure Facility, established by the World Bank.
Stronger, more resilient global economy
The C20 welcomes G20 Leaders’ commitment to urgent reform of the international taxation system, critical to building more resilient economies, particularly developing economies. We welcome the advances made on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Agenda to amend international taxation rules. We welcome the endorsement of the common reporting standard for the automatic exchange of tax information on a reciprocal basis and encourage nations to sign onto the standards. We welcome the undertaking by the OECD to deeper engagement of developing nations in the BEPS project, including by providing assistance in capacity building.
The C20 welcomes the G20’s endorsement of a new anti-corruption action plan, and a commitment to advancing the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative and implementation of high level principles for beneficial ownership transparency. We call on G20 Leaders to take further action to agree to public registries of the information on the real owners of companies and other entities, and country by country reports of all basic information about the operation of multinational enterprises operating in our societies.
Strengthening global institutions
As a global institution concerned with strengthening the global economy, the G20 must necessarily be concerned with the effective operation of the international institutions with which it works and upon which it relies. International institutions need to be effective, representative and well resourced. The C20 notes the statements by international organisations on the urgent need to take strong action to address inequality to realise inclusive growth. We are disappointed that the G20 still has not reached agreement to adequately fund the IMF and agree to quota and governance reforms.
Similarly, the WTO and the WHO need to be actively supported and well resourced to be effective and sufficiently nimble to address existing and emerging global issues, all of which impact on global growth, ultimately undermining global stability and security. Urgent issues which need to be addressed include both the large scale movement of displaced persons across the globe including in the Middle East, and the humanitarian and economic impact of the Ebola crisis.
Climate Change and Resource Sustainability
Climate change is a significant geo-political and economic issue. The G20 commitment to strong and effective action to address climate change is welcomed. We applaud the strong statements on climate change from individual G20 members and welcome Turkey’s announcement that climate change will be a top priority in 2015. We note the historic China-US emission reduction targets pact and encourage other nations to follow suit to provide additional momentum for an agreement to be reached at the United Nations’ climate change meeting in 2015.
Investment in clean energy is urgently required and must be addressed as part of the G20’s commitment to increasing global investment in infrastructure. The C20 is disappointed that the G20 has not made a strong time-limited commitment to ending subsidies for fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency, and investments in renewable energy as a means to ensure access to energy for all, thereby enhancing energy security and supporting sustainable and inclusive growth, development and poverty alleviation.
The C20 welcomes the G20’s support for mobilising finance for climate adaptation and mitigation through the UN Green Climate Fund. The C20 encourages other G20 nations to follow the example set by the United States and Japan in pledging generously and immediately to climate financing.
We note Leaders’ reference to food security and further encourage the G20 to address the relationship between climate change, resource security and water and energy availability. Leaders are encouraged to advance intergovernmental efforts for the UN’s post-2015 sustainable development goals, including a recommitment to contributing 0.7 percent of GNI to overseas development aid.
Future Arrangements
The C20 congratulates the Australian Presidency for an efficiently run and engaging G20 meeting. The C20 is firmly entrenched in the G20’s architecture and its inclusion is central to the legitimacy of the G20.
We look forward to continuing an international collaboration in 2015 under Turkey’s Presidency in pursuing inclusive growth and employment, development, inequality, and climate change for the benefit of all people, particularly the world’s poorest.
The official Communique from the G20 Leaders Summit can be found here
The Australian Government’s Country Growth Straegy submitted to the G20 Leaders’ Summit can be found here
November 15, 2014
Australia must show leadership at the G20 Summit by pledging support for poor nations struggling to manage climate risk, according to key development and environmental leaders from the C20.
Responding to today’s $US3 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund from United States President Barack Obama, C20 Chair and World Vision Chief Executive Tim Costello joined Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima and WWF Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman in urging the Australian Presidency to take a leadership role on delivering climate finance through the global Green Climate Fund (GCF).
In Australia for the G20, Winnie Byanyima said that climate change was already damaging communities and contributing to hunger and inequality around the world.
“Developing countries need financial assistance from rich nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prepare for the unavoidable impacts of a changing climate and develop on a low carbon pathway.
“As the host of this important global meeting, Australia must be an enabler and show leadership by committing to do its fair share.”
Tim Costello said, “Australia has a proud track record of helping our more fragile neighbours get through hard times. Now they need our help to adapt to a changing climate.
“Australia has the know-how and resources to help poor and vulnerable people deal with the realities of changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures.
“As the people of Brisbane and Australia well know, extreme weather events, such as floods, cyclones and fires, often leave a damage bill in the in the billions. Most developing countries simply cannot afford these sorts of costs and are often forced to choose between feeding and educating their people, or replacing vital infrastructure damaged by extreme events.
“Australia cannot just stand by while the threat to global economic security and resilience continues to grow.”
Dermot O’Gorman urged the Australian Government to make the most of its G20 Presidency to help secure a commitment on climate finance in Brisbane.
“In the first instance we’re looking for an assurance from the Australian Government that they will demonstrate equal generosity and pledge to make a contribution,” Mr O’Gorman said.
“In the past Australia has provided around $200 million a year towards climate finance. The expectation from the international community is that Australia should be willing to better that.
“This could be a positive legacy of the G20 Brisbane Leaders’ Summit.”
November 14, 2014
The legitimacy and credibility of the G20 is on the line in Brisbane and world leaders must agree on measures to tackle extreme and growing inequality between the rich and ordinary citizens, says the C20.
C20 Chair Tim Costello said the G20 had stepped up to the plate in addressing the Global Financial Crisis, and now was the moment to tackle growing inequality – the major brake on economic prosperity today.
“The G20 will be rendered irrelevant if it cannot deliver benefits beyond a small economic elite,” Mr Costello said.
“Only by taking concrete, measurable action to reduce inequality and address climate change can the G20 produce a fairness dividend that will improve the lives of billions.”
The C20’s measures of the fairness of G20 outcomes include:
Fairness achieved by improving the incomes of the bottom 20 per cent
Fairness to future generations by addressing climate change
Fairness to communities by giving them a say in projects that impact them
Fairness to developing nations by closing tax havens, improving transparency and cracking down on corruption.
Continuing to dismiss climate change as a main agenda item will also damage the legacy of Australia as President, and ignores the potential of climate action to safeguard the livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
“Governments and corporate leaders are increasingly aware that climate change is a key social and economic issue, and is already having a disproportionate impact on poorer nations and regions,” said Mr Costello.
The C20 said the communique must contain a commitment to ‘inclusive’ growth – ensuring growth is sustainable and benefits those at the very lowest end of the wealth and income scale.
“The C20 is calling on the G20 to take action that will result in growth in the incomes of the bottom 20 percent of households, and for growth plans to be jobs-rich,” Mr Costello said.
“There is a simple fairness test which should be applied to country growth plans: are they delivering for all levels in society? Do they guarantee universal access to quality health and education?”
Mr Costello said the Ebola epidemic was an example of the failure of governments and the private sector to deliver health security for some of the world’s poorest nations.
“If Australia’s G20 Presidency doesn’t deliver a strong commitment to inclusive growth it will be ignoring not only the voices of civil society but also the voices of the OECD, the IMF, and many other countries.
“That includes making our international tax system fairer by closing the loopholes that make it easier for corporations and wealthy individuals to dodge their tax obligations.”
A copy of the C20’s Statement submitted to the G20 ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane can be found on the C20 website: www.C20.org.au
For further media information, please contact: John Lindsay, C20 Media & Communications Manager, Tel: +61 423 456 046 email: john.lindsay@worldvison.com.au
November 12, 2014
A new report reveals that nearly a billion more people would be better off should Prime Minister Abbott rally G20 Leaders to adopt an inclusive growth target to reduce inequality, especially for those in the bottom 20 percent of their populations.
‘Inclusive Growth: Ensuring everyone shares in the benefits of G20’s 2% growth target,’ reveals a two per cent inclusive growth target would see 950 million of the poorest in G20 nations better off, with increased incomes of US$800 per person on average.
The Australian G20 Presidency has prioritised the achievement of an additional two percent growth target during its chairing of the G20, with world leaders – and business – pointing to the need for stronger growth.
However, just aiming for stronger growth is not enough says the C20 which is calling on G20 Leaders to include a ‘two percent inclusive growth target’ in their communique on Sunday. An inclusive growth target will help ensure that the poorest people benefit in G20 member growth plans, and are not excluded. Fairness in outcomes must be a key element of these plans.
The C20 proposes an achievable measure for a two percent increase in the incomes of the bottom 20% of households in each G20 country over the next five years to 2018, to align with the existing G20 growth target.
Chair of the C20 Tim Costello said, “Across the world, people are talking about the threat posed to economic stability by poverty and increasingly inequality.
“The G20 previously recognised the importance of inclusive growth at the St Petersburg Summit in 2013 but this commitment appears to have slipped off the G20 agenda in 2014.
“If we are to get a fair outcome for the world’s poor, we need to ensure that inclusive growth remains on the G20 agenda, and that we can measure its effectiveness,” said Mr Costello.
Melissa Wells from Save the Children and co-author of the report said, “Australia’s G20 will go down in history for making a billion more people better off, so long as the Summit’s leaders to stick to their guns and ensure an inclusive growth target benefits the poorest households.”
Amanda Robbins from Equity Economics and co-author of the report said, “We need to actively consider the impact of policy decisions on the poorest households and an inclusive growth target focuses attention on this challenge, and provides a means to hold governments accountable for ensuring growth is shared.”
The report calls on G20 leaders to:
Reaffirm their commitment to inclusive growth made at the St Petersburg Summit in 2013.
Ensure growth benefits the poorest households with a ‘two percent inclusive growth target’.
Assess the distributional impacts of major economic reform measures proposed as part of the two percent growth target.
For further media information on the report, please contact: John Lindsay, C20 Media & Communications Manager, Tel: +61 423 456 046 email: john.lindsay@worldvison.com.au or Melissa Wells on +61 448 585 182 email: melissa.wells@savethechildren.org.au
A copy of the Report can be found here:
C20 Inclusive Growth Policy Paper-FINAL2014
November 10, 2014
The C20 (‘Civil Society 20’) is calling on G20 leaders to take action this weekend to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in society.
C20 Chair Tim Costello said the C20 was looking for an outcome on Sunday that clearly demonstrates G20 Leaders’ commitment to fairness by taking concrete, measurable action to reduce inequality and address climate change.
Mr Costello said, “It will be a sad legacy of the Australian Presidency if we go backwards in the fight against poverty by failing to tackle growing inequality.
“The G20’s Brisbane Action Plan must build on the formal commitment made in St Petersburg last year for inclusive growth to be a central focus of G20 decision making. Otherwise meeting the two percent growth target will be a hollow achievement and Leaders will be judged as indifferent to those most in need.
“More than half the world’s poor live in G20 countries and seven out 10 of all people live in countries where inequality has increased since the 1980s. There is a yawning divide between the richest and the poorest that is undermining the global fight against poverty, and eroding trust in governments.
“This is why the C20 is calling on the G20 to take action that will result in growth in the incomes of the bottom 20 percent of households, and for growth plans to be jobs-rich.
“The G20 will be rendered irrelevant if it cannot deliver outcomes that benefit those beyond an exclusive economic elite,” said Mr Costello.
“That includes making our international tax system fairer by closing the loopholes that make it easier for corporations and wealthy individuals to dodge their tax obligations.
“The G20 needs to ask itself a simple question: Why do tax havens even exist?” he said.
The C20 argues that climate change is a critical economic issue confronting the G20 and must be discussed as a stand-alone item of the G20 agenda. The decision by the Australian Presidency to ignore the impact of climate change on the global economy is a retrograde and damaging step.
“This G20 will ultimately be judged by the fairness test,” said Mr Costello, “whether that’s fairness to future generations by facing up to climate change; fairness to the bottom 20% of poorest households; fairness to 75 million young people unemployed worldwide; or fairness to taxpayers by declaring tax havens immoral,” said Mr Costello.
The Australian C20 Steering Committee comprises representatives of international and domestic civil society organisations including World Vision Australia, ACOSS, WWF, Oxfam, Transparency International, the National Council of Churches, and the National Employment Services Association. A number of individuals are also involved in the C20.
The C20 has focused its engagement with the G20 around the four key areas of:
Inclusive Growth and Employment;
Infrastructure;
Climate and Resource Sustainability; and
Governance (including tax and financial transparency).
A copy of the C20’s Statement submitted to the G20 ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane can be found on the C20 website, or by clicking here.
November 09, 2014
The C20 has submitted its formal Statement to the G20 summarising the issues civil society believes need to be addressed at the Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane this weekend.
The recommendations, if implemented, would benefit those most in need, resulting in fairer, more equitable outcomes overall.
The Statement can be downloaded from the link below.
c20-Leaders-Summit Statement-NOV-2014
October 29, 2014
Transcript and audio of interview on ABC 774 Melbourne with C20 Chair Tim Costello by interviewer Jon Faine on Tuesday 28 October 2014
Download File
JON FAINE:
The front page of today’s Australian newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, is an account of a speech that he delivered in Washington to the G20. Apparently, it’s the first time that a non-political leader has been invited to address the leaders of the free world and he said that he was concerned about growing inequality. It makes for fascinating reading.
We thought we’d chew the fat on it this morning with Tim Costello, one of Australia’s leading social consciences. He’s the CEO of World Vision Australia and chair of what’s called the C20 – the Civic 20. Tim, good morning to you.
TIM COSTELLO:
Yeah, good morning, Jon.
JON FAINE:
This would be a welcome development from your perspective, I’d imagine. Is that right?
TIM COSTELLO:
Yeah look, I – you could have knocked me over when I opened my paper and saw Rupert sounding like Karl Marx. Of course, Marx said capital accumulation will lead to huge inequality and there’s been a book by a Frenchman, Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, where he shows that the growth in wages is way outstripped by the growth in capital, and this inequality isn’t just bad for society but it actually hinders future growth, so finding Rupert singing from this same song sheet was quite amazing.
JON FAINE:
Okay, well the commentary can come later but the substance – he says, much of the burden of failed global economic policy is falling on young people, and he’s alarmed about the lack of opportunity for the next generation, not just to have jobs but their lack of opportunities to have meaningful careers. This is a topic that’s very relevant, I would have thought particularly in societies like ours.
TIM COSTELLO:
Yeah, look this is exactly what the Civil Society 20 have been urging the G20 leaders to discuss. Six hundred million young people are unemployed or underemployed, and this is a lost generation, and Rupert Murdoch calls it the sacrifice of a generation and he’s absolutely right there. The extraordinary prescriptions he has to dealing with this of lifting regulation, which is really just trickle down, I don’t agree with. But he’s diagnosed the problem, and the problem really is that now 85 people in our world have wealth equal to 3.5 billion people. In Australia, three Australians have wealth equal to one million Australians. That’s all of Adelaide. And as this inequality continues to soar, the social and economic impacts are just devastating.
JON FAINE:
So having identified what he regards as the problem, I’m not sure though that you’re going to agree with what he regards as the solution, though, Tim Costello. He says the policy priorities were education, immigration reform, infrastructure investment, and cheap energy.
TIM COSTELLO:
No, and he also calls for less regulation. I was at the B20 where he made a speech and he said politicians are all useless. They couldn’t run a business. They need to get out of the way and just let us who are businessmen run it. Look, the trouble with those recommendations is that when you loosen up regulation, that’s exactly what got us into trouble in the global financial crisis, because banks simply weren’t regulated and transparent in passing on debts. In terms of his view that we need – politicians need to take a long-term view of what we need to do, I agree with that. But when it’s simply loosening up the economy for business to keep doing what it does best, for small business, absolutely. Light touch, soft regulation because most employed people are through small business. I agree with him. But we certainly see multi-nationals and their inability or refusal to pay tax. He names Google, and I found that interesting because Google are terrible but I wonder if News Corp will now after this remove their tax havens in the Bahamas. They have them there, too. We would have some different answers to what Rupert is suggesting to deal with this.
JON FAINE:
I suspect his answer, if I can channel my inner Rupert, Tim Costello, would be to say, well, when you reform the law so everyone has to do it, we’ll do it, too. But while it’s available to us, to be competitive, we have to keep doing it. He says labour market reform is a priority. Lower and more competitive corporate taxes as well, as you just mentioned. Cracking down on international tax avoidance, a la Google. So labour market reform is code for lower minimum wages in usual parlance.
TIM COSTELLO:
Yes, it is, and look, we know that when you crack down – when you actually loosen regulation and bring down corporate profits, you don’t necessarily deal with some of the massive inequalities. So World Vision working in 67 countries, we know there’s something like 168 million children in slave labour. Now that happens because it means lower prices – consumer prices for us, because they are literally working for nothing. Now there, you can’t actually have a more flexible working market when you’ve been paying people nothing. So whilst these issues need to be discussed, I think the truth is that the tax havens, which is on the agenda for the G20, is a really big one. Labour market flexibility – well, when we know that the bottom 10 per cent of Australians have only seen their wages rise 15 per cent since 1975 but top 10 per cent have seen their wages rise 59 per cent since 1975 – in other words, a cleaner, if he got the top 10 per cent wage increase would have $14,000 a year more in their pay packet – you know that market deregulation and labour deregulation can’t simply be the answer.
JON FAINE:
Well, it’s going to be fascinating to see if indeed this in any way influences the way his newspapers report on economic and political matters and contests here in Australia, because when Labor figures have been arguing some of these sorts of issues, they’ve been pooh poohed and lampooned and satirised in the Murdoch press here in Australia, and of course, those of us at the ABC who occasionally raise our voice on similar things are described as irrelevant or utopian.
TIM COSTELLO:
Well, it’s why I said Rupert’s sounding like Karl Marx is quite extraordinary. And look, I congratulate him on this. I think it’s a really right diagnosis of the problem, the profound inequality. It’s why we are insisting that the G20 include the term inclusive growth in its growth plans for the world. Look, we all agree that fiscal and monetary policies have become exhausted. They’ve run their course. We do need to get business investing in infrastructure, that’s absolutely true, because of the deficit in investment around the globe. But inclusive growth says when – growth can’t simply go to profits, it actually needs to go to jobs. You can’t allow jobless growth, and that’s what we’ve been seeing. The top five per cent with growth in the economy reaping the cream, and there hasn’t been jobs for young people and there hasn’t been the sort of bridging of the inequality gap that we all so desperately need.
September 22, 2014
Cartoon reproduced courtesy of the Australian Financial Review
The following Letter from the C20 was first published in the Australian Financial Review on 22 September 2014 with the accompanying AFR cartoon.
As Jennifer Hewett points out (“Why everyone is talking BEPS”, AFR, September 18), the Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey is right to ask the G20 to focus on reform of the international taxation system. It’s time to shine a light on tax havens and the murky world of secrecy jurisdictions.
It is estimated that approximately $US21 trillion ($23.5 trillion) is lost to nations through tax havens and shell companies, with annual revenue losses equal to twice the value of development aid. This alone should stir urgent action. While low-income nations are disproportionately affected and denied their right to economic independence, all nations suffer from the illicit outflows of financial resources.
But Australia needs to practically demonstrate its commitment to reform. We should adhere to the start-up date allowing tax agencies to exchange relevant information on companies that trade within their borders. Some corporations crying “red tape” have forced the delay, but the idea is to encourage clear and certain rules, and make tax processes more transparent. A significant number of countries have already signed up to start reporting in 2016, and we should too.
Ultimately, the design of the system will ensure its success and developing nations need to be included in the design and roll-out of the BEPS agenda. A truly multilateral system is required, not a two-tier system that consigns, once again, our poorer nation colleagues as outside observers.
Joanne Yates
C20 Sherpa
C20 Secretariat
|
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Top Stories The G20 isn’t the meeting where world leaders dress up in national costume (that’s APEC) and a Sherpa doesn’t carry everyone else’s bags... Access to Islamic finance helps integrate Muslims into capitalist societies. Dr Jikon Lai The US says 'we need to step up', but Australia says the focus should remain on growth and jobs. Cathy Harper
'Shirt-fronting' controversy aside, the real question is whether Russia's President should attend the G20. Prof Leslie Holmes Equitable and sustainable economic growth can only be achieved through investment in water infrastructure. Anna Kosovac The G20 includes the largest economies in the world. Per capita, however, each country differs remarkably. Care must be taken not to marginalise emerging economies. Yoshiji Nogami. Could multinationals be forced to pay tax on their global operations? Prof John Freebairn Developing countries are missing out on crucial revenue. Claire Spoors The G20 has been tested over the political tension in Ukraine. Bruce Jones G20 friendships will be tested by the Islamic State group. Dr Denis Dragovic It wouldn't be in the G20's interests to exclude Putin. Leonard Krasny The G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ meetings are just a big show. Prof Jeff Borland Australia likes to think it's a 'middle power'. And so it should. Heath Pickering Australia should include climate change on the G20's official agenda. Prof Don Henry Pages
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Top Stories Let's hope the Leaders' Summit is not a $500 million talkfest. Nicholas Reece Has the G20 met the needs of its developing members, such as India? Is the G20 capable of dealing with the increasingly fractious economy? Mark Triffitt At last year's G20 Summit a number of commitments were made, but they need to be turned into results. Ludmila Khudyakova. If climate change was on the agenda, what could the G20 actually do? Prof Ross Garnaut The G20 is criticised for being a bit like herding cats, but it's got a lot to offer. Dr Steven Slaughter Combating corruption is on the G20 agenda. So how well do G20 member states rate on combating corruption themselves? Heath Pickering Western nations and media have blamed Russia for MH17 and Ukraine tensions. But it's more complex than that. Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser The G20 must extend its mandate to influence political change in authoritarian regimes. Taha Özhan. Economic growth can only be reached through suitable climate policy. Matthew Rao Indonesia sees itself as a leader of 'emerging' economies at the G20. But will Jokowi turn up? Dr Avery Poole Great power politics is not a moral arena. A/Prof Timothy Lynch The G20 needs to update the multi-lateral trading system. Prof Gary Sampson. The G20 is too cautious about fiscal policy. Prof Ian McDonald What issues will G20 members be considering in 2014, and what's been left off the agenda? Pages
The G20’s pursuit of new forms of energy comes with unknown risks. Dr Will Howard, Dr Sara Bice, Prof Mike Sandiford Bomb-proof limousines, counter intelligence measures and thousands of soldiers and police will be in place to protect world leaders. Heath Pickering Making multinationals pay tax where they make their profits... Who said tax was boring?
Young people will inherit the challenges not solved by the G20 today. Scott Limbrick Where does the deal leave the G20? And who are the worst emitters? Barack Obama uses a speech on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit to call for action on climate change. Cathy Harper Leaders have arrived in Brisbane and were urged by the UN's Ban Ki Moon to act on jobs, climate change and Ebola. Cathy Harper The agreement between the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters is a big step forward. A/Prof Peter Christoff. The G20 must help resolve the Ebola crisis. A/Professor Jodie McVernon Citizens need is a formal and publicly available assessment of all available infrastructure options. Prof John Freebairn The G20 has acted on climate change before. So why not again? Prof Ross Garnaut What did Tony Abbott really say to Vladimir Putin? The US holds the key to one of the most important decisions of the G20 since the Global Financial Crisis. Prof Andrew Walter Who's in the G20 and what does it do? All your questions answered here. Get to know the world leaders who will be arriving in Brisbane for the G20 Leaders' Summit. Pages
The Australian Presidency of the G20 in 2014 was the first time civil society had been formerly involved in the G20 consultation process. Members of the C20 Steering Group, including Chair Tim Costello, Deputy Chair Cassandra Goldie and Sherpa Joanne Yates, give their reflections on camera of the G20 process under the Presidency of Australia and whether they feel this consultation turned out to be a meaningful one. Each outlines what they see – from both a personal and organisational perspective – the achievements they believe the C20 had in influencing the final outcomes, and any areas for improvement when it comes to the involvement of civil society in the process going forward. Watch the C20 Steering Group reflections in a 6 minute edited compilation here Or watch the individual 2 -3 minute reflections by Steering Group members by clicking the names below: Rev Tim Costello – C20 Chair – CEO World Vision Dr Cassandra Goldie – C20 Deputy Chair – CEO Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) Joanne Yates - C20 Sherpa Dermot O’Gorman – CEO WWF Australia Sally Sinclair – CEO National Employment Services Association (NESA) Greg Thompson – Executive Director Transparency International Prof Rob Moodie – Professor of Public Health, School of Population & Global Health, The University of Melbourne Judge Rauf Soulio – Chair Australian Multicultural Council Rev. Tara Curlewis – (Former) General Secretary National Council of Churches All these short videos – and a range of other C20 videos from throughout the year – can all be found on the C20 YouTube page at Australian 20
November 16, 2014
Responding immediately following the release of the G20 Leaders’ Communique in Brisbane, C20 Chair Tim Costello, said:
“The world needed a break and this G20 has undoubtedly provided a step forward. We certainly haven’t gone backwards.
“We’ve seen inclusive growth placed squarely on the agenda. We’ve seen commitments to boost the economic participation of women.
“We’ve seen action on climate change which impacts the world’s poorest citizens. We’ve seen serious money put on the table by the US and Japan for climate financing.
“We’ve seen significant steps forward on transparency, including action on beneficial ownership.
“We’re encouraged by the commitment to poverty reduction – but this needs to be delivered through action that results in growth in the incomes of the bottom 20 percent of households.
“The devil will be in the detail of the individual country action plans. We will certainly scrutinise our own government’s action plan for jobs-rich inclusive growth and particularly for its impacts on young people and women.
“Our position remains, you cannot reduce inequality by increasing it and you can’t deliver inclusive growth if you push whole tranches of your community further into poverty in the process.
“We will remain steadfast in our advocacy to ensure governments know what is expected of them.”
November 16, 2014
C20 Chair Tim Costello tells G20 Leaders civil society is watching
Issued at 12 noon on Sun 16 Nov (prior to Communique release):
The C20 will deliver its verdict this afternoon on the outcomes of the Brisbane G20 Leaders’ Summit following the release of the communique by the Australian Prime Minister.
C20 Chair Tim Costello said: “When the Brisbane Action Plan comes out, we will be asking: Does it pass the fairness test and deliver for the everyday citizen – or only for the elite few?
“If reducing inequality is not front and centre in the G20 action plans, they will have missed this historic opportunity.
“One thing’s for sure – you don’t reduce inequality by increasing it,” said Mr Costello.
“As the World Bank and the IMF statements have reinforced, inequality is a barrier to economic growth. The C20 believes addressing inequality must be the engine, not the carriage on the train toward growth.
“The importance of G20 shows no one country – even the G20 Presidency – can dictate the terms for the global agenda. Just look at how climate change was put into the frame.
“The true test will now be whether the final communique addresses inclusive growth and inequality, or simply pays lip-service. Will the Brisbane Action Plan ignore the devastation of climate change already impacting on the world’s poorest nations? Will it benefit the poorest 20 percent of households?
“Will the G20 pass the fairness test?” said Mr Costello.
For further media information, please contact: John Lindsay, C20 Media & Communications Manager, Tel: +61 423 456 046 email: john.lindsay@worldvison.com.au
C20 news
Read the latest C20 news.
View news »
The C20 was given the opportunity to present what it believes are the issues the G20 need to address in their Brisbane Action Plan this weekend including tackling growing inequality and climate change.
The full media conference video can be watched here
A transcript can be found here
The full video of the C20 media conference in Brisbane on Thursday 13 November where C20 Chair Tim Costello, Deputy Chair Cassandra Goldie and C20 Sherpa Joanne Yates outlined the C20′s asks can be watched here.
November 11, 2014
This Opinion Editorial orginally appeared in the Canberra Times on 11 November 2014
The world of today is doing its best to give the impression that it is falling apart. We are witnessing outbreaks of fundamentalism in many destructive forms. Some nations are retreating in fear from the ebola epidemic instead of contributing to prevention and treatment efforts. And more and more ordinary citizens are loudly demanding that policy-makers incorporate the notion of fairness into their deliberations on global economic reform.
In this febrile climate, there is a risk that nations will also fall into the trap of pursuing economic tribalism. That is, national leaders and policy-makers will increasingly make decisions which ignore the need for deeper co-operation on a range of complex problems: rising inequality, profit-shifting, the dearth of jobs for young people, and climate change.
The pursuit of a prosperity that can be shared by all is at a tipping point – where low confidence becomes a perpetual dampener on investment, jobs growth and economic development. We need good global governance to stabilise, inspire and settle the brittleness of the world economy.
The G20 leaders, as well as Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, have taken up the challenge of delivering economic growth two percentage points higher than ‘business as usual’.
That is indeed a worthy aim – but there is an attached sub-text which needs to be unpacked. Too often we blithely assume that stronger growth means jobs: more jobs, better jobs, jobs that provide a decent living. But we rarely openly explore the question of where the benefits of growth flow.
US Secretary of Labour Tom Perez – in Melbourne recently for the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting – spoke about growth in the US not flowing proportionately to workers, the so-called ‘middle class’ of America.
In my role as chair of Australia’s C20 (Civil Society 20), I also told the same ministers that we can’t avoid talking about profits in a world where 85 individuals own as much wealth as the bottom 3.5 billion. A better corporate bottom line – underpinned by ‘benefits’ flowing to consumers in the form of lower prices – is what drives such human miseries as child labour exploitation.
Placing concepts such as fairness and inclusivity at the heart of discussions which set the global growth agenda is not about tacking on caveats to temper the ravages of a free market. It is about addressing the sustainability of growth. A ‘structural reform’ agenda, to adopt the lexicon of economic policy-makers, cannot succeed if it is not underpinned by a broad societal consensus on where the benefits and burdens of growth fall.
Despite the likelihood that the G20 Leaders Summit will be hijacked by the military and security crises of the moment, there can be no doubt that economic insecurity, and the attendant instability it fuels, is enough of a burning platform to force the G20 to look to balanced, inclusive growth as the answer to the economic (and investment) confidence question.
In relation to the G20’s tax reform agenda, the inconvenient questions of fairness and equity come to the fore starkly. If the G20 fails to deliver a workable timetable and genuine commitment to innovations in tax transparency, avoidance and profit-shifting, then only the already wealthy will have reason to cheer.
Fairness and equity are strong bases on which to build lasting reforms such as overhauling a tax system to deliver tangible benefits. The (relative) integrity of Australia’s tax system is one of our country’s real advantages when it comes to delivering the benefits of growth to many. Leaders of developing nations do not have such revenue streams at their disposal, constraining their ability to deliver even the most basic of services to their population.
Those people who exist outside the bubble of economic and legislative debate over global tax reform – but who nonetheless feel the impact of these policies – deserve to be taken seriously when they ask: why do tax havens even exist?
There are strong global growth dividends on offer from embracing reforms including automatic exchange of tax information, country-by-country reporting, and ‘publish what you pay’ provisions.
The lack of transparency in a leaky and opaque global tax system which has not kept pace with the emergence of global value chains undermines confidence and trust, and rightly provokes a desire to name and shame transgressors. Global tech behemoths have already felt the pointy end of these campaigns. I am confident that there is a trust dividend available in response to bold reforms which shine a light on shifty, unfair practices which exacerbate inequality.
Now is the time for boldness, for good global governance rather than national self-interest. European Commission president-elect and former prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker remarked in 2007 that: “We all know what to do but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it.”
This remark is somewhat ironic given Luxembourg’s prominence in the debate over tax havens, yet Juncker’s core point remains sound. Our job as members of civil society and as good global citizens is to argue the case in support of those leaders who want to do the right thing.
Tim Costello is chair of Australia’s C20 and chief executive of World Vision Australia
C20 Statement to G20 Leaders’ Summit Brisbane 2014
November 04, 2014
C20 Trillion dollars footer
C20 Trillion $ Dirty Energy Footer
C20 Right Infrastructure Footer
C20 Corruption Footer
C20 85 People Inequality Footer
C20 75 Million Youth Footer
C20 5 Times more on Dirty Energy Footer
The C20 recently produced a series of advertising messages which were booked to be displayed in the international terminal at Brisbane Airport to promote our messages to visitors arriving for the G20 Leaders Summit.
Unfortunately after submitting the artwork, the messaging was deemed too political by Brisbane Airport authorities who refused to display them. This has led to some media coverage around this decision.
The C20 is disappointed at the Airport’s position as we don’t understand why these important global messages would be prevented from being displayed.
They are not party political, don’t use offensive language or an offensive tone.
Ordinary people are affected by the G20’s decision making. We believe these are important messages highlighting the impact these decisions made in Brisbane can have on the lives of ordinary people.
We are surprised that these global messages are deemed not appropriate for G20 visitors to see.
October 03, 2014
C20 Infrastructure Rountable 2 C20 Infrastructure Rountable 3 C20 Infrastructure Rountable 1
Telstra CEO David Thodey and ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie, B20 and C20 Infrastructure Taskforce co-chairs respectively, yesterday (2 October) hosted a discussion on infrastructure with a number of Australian civil society and business leaders in advance of the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane in November.
The Taskforces:
- agreed that infrastructure investment could address some of the challenges facing G20 nations in meeting their growth targets
- agreed that infrastructure investment could also deliver important economic, social and sustainable outcomes for all communities, if managed and implemented in the right way. Infrastructure investment, it was confirmed, was critical to delivering strong communities, inclusive growth, reducing poverty and raising living standards, and in job creation, especially at the local level and for young people.
- agreed that bringing together the expertise of business, civil society and unions and community would result in more effective and efficient decision making for infrastructure delivery noting also the importance of acting within an ethical framework and the rule of law of host nations.
- shared the aspiration for the Global Infrastructure Centre and
- supported its mandate for the identification and promotion of leading practices, thought leadership, development and sharing of model documentation, benchmarks and standards, including community engagement practice.
- recognised the need to adhere to agreed international principles for long term investment
- recognised the infrastructure project management could be the impetus for raising standards within particular settings.
In the context of Australia:
- noted that regulatory complexity could generate significant delays in project development resulting in additional costs. The Taskforces further noted the impact of such challenges on housing affordability in the Australian context.
- agreed on the importance of transparency across the whole infrastructure process, noting its relationship to procurement practices for the quality of project delivery, value for money outcomes and building community trust and confidence.
- agreed on the importance of community engagement and alliance building early in the process as critical to the success of infrastructure projects
- noted that, as part of good practice, contractual provisions could be used to deliver job creation and training and education outcomes, particularly for young people and for local communities.
- noted that technological innovation and digital solutions could potentially drive much greater infrastructure efficiency dividends.
- agreed about the importance of the tripartite engagement and to continue to work collaboratively to support this approach.
|
Scoop.it!
