PM: I've just fresh from the family photo, so we've done that bit of the G20. The G20 meeting is still in progress, what happens here matters for Australian families. Big topics on the agenda of this G20 to which we will agree during the course of the meeting do matter for Australian families. Australian families need to know that the world's financial system is stable. When the global financial crisis hit and the world's financial system was not stable, that did have an impact on Australian families. So the financial stability reforms that will be agreed at this G20 meeting matter to Australians and their daily lives.
Second, what happens here matters for Australian families because global economic growth matters for Australian families; whether growth is balanced and can be sustained in the long-term. A growing global economy is good for the Australian economy, a growing global economy means Australian jobs and Australian prosperity.
And thirdly, what happens here matters for Australian families because we are a great trading nation. So what happens to free up trade, to increase trade, matters for Australian families because for Australian families, put very simply, trade equals jobs.
Each of these issues is under discussion at the G20 and it appears that agreement on these substantial areas of work will be reached.
Financial stability through new rules including the Basel III rules and reforms to the IMF, increased global growth through agreement to a new global framework to work on lifting growth and addressing imbalances between those countries that currently spend too much and those countries that currently save too much. Balanced global growth is in the interests of the world and in the interests of Australians because it means global growth can be higher and sustained.
And it appears the G20 will also agree to the conclusion of the Doha round to the end-game, this is a major set of trade negotiations that the world has been working on for a long period of time, now we are determined to move to the end-game, that's good for Australia, we're a trading nation and it's good for Australian jobs.
I'm very happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, yesterday it appeared that your written text in the speech you gave to the business summit was tougher and stronger (inaudible) than the speech you actually gave. Why did you soften your sentiments?
PM: Can I say what a load of nonsense. I had a written text, I went to the business summit, the format was a round table, so rather than read my way through many pages of a speech, I drew off it and extemporised as I went. I did that for all of the speech. I made sure that when I gave that speech, which effectively became an off the cuff speech drawing off the written speech, that I was very clear that the conduct of Australian banks in putting up interest rates above and beyond the Reserve Bank movement is unacceptable, it is of concern to the Australian community, and the Government is responding with competition measures. I made that very clear.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister 24 hours after the High Court's decision on asylum seekers, are we any closer to knowing whether there (inaudible) changes?
PM: I will work through that with the Minister for Immigration when I return to Australia.
JOURNALIST: He seems to be given an indication that they might be though, and courting the possibility of having to change the laws (inaudible)
PM: The Minister for Immigration's directly dealing with this matter back in Australia. He'll work through and make some recommendations about need for legislative change. I would just make this point - we are of course talking about Howard Government legislation. We now have the High Court decision and we need to assess its ramifications. It appears to me that in some of the media today there's a suggestion that somehow this High Court decision affects my plans for a regional protection framework and regional processing centre, it does not.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister -
PM: Michelle and then I'll come to Malcolm.
JOURNALIST: You have spoken strongly about the danger of increasing protectionism, do you think that this is a serious imminent threat to the international economy?
PM: I think it's a medium term threat to the international economy, by that I think the measure is in years not months. I think it's a medium term threat, because there are many nations around the world that are struggling with high levels on unemployment. Fortunately in Australia, because of the special circumstances of our economy, because of the quick and decisive action of the government with the provision of economic stimulus, we are seeing unemployment rates that by world standards are not as high as other countries are dealing with. So our most recent unemployment rate 5.4 per cent, whereas for example the Americans are dealing with an unemployment rates of more than 9 per cent, so the medium term threat here is governments go through fiscal consolidation, which in the language of ordinary families in many parts of the world will mean cut backs to government services that they rely on. In those nations at the same time there will be persistently high unemployment levels and sluggish growth, I think in those circumstances in many countries around the world that will give rise to domestic calls for protectionism. Australia is in a different position, our economy is in a different position, but if a tide of protectionism broke out around the world that would ultimately be bad for us, we are a trading nation. Malcolm?
JOURNALIST: Are you saying there are no manifestations of re-emerging protectionism within Australian politics, I'm not talking about government, but (inaudible)
PM: I think that there is a debate in the Australian community about free trade, about whether it's good for us, I think we've had that debate, and will continue to have it, but I don't think that debate had sharply increased in tempo in Australia. My warning here at the G20, in terms of challenges that face G20 leaders in the medium term is that not in Australia, given our economic circumstances, but in other countries, sluggish growth, high unemployment, dramatic budget cut backs, that that in those countries is a recipe for rising protectionist sentiment and we can't afford to have it break out around the world.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister -
PM: Yes.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned that DFAT (inaudible) Congolese mining in Australia is based on a French investigation claims that he was (inaudible) with only 350 people in 1999.
PM: Look, I can't help you with that, I'll have a look at it and we'll get back to you with a comment.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, in your written speech yesterday you suggested that the (inaudible) banking could damage the wider Australian economy. Do you believe that there is a risk of economic problems arising from the bank's actions?
PM: What I said yesterday at the business summit was that domestically in Australia the economic debate is about banking and about the mortgage rate increases, about how Australian families rightly feel ripped off about that and about the need for increased competition building on the government's earlier competition reforms. I believe all of that is true. I believe the focus in Australia on banking means, of course, there is less debate about other things that are happening in the economy, where we are with unemployment, which once again if you compare with the US or the UK or so many countries around the world, we are in a different and better position and in other economic debates we are obviously having - a patchwork economy, different, growing different speeds of growth in different parts of the nation, so that was the force of my comment. The Government is obviously working on a further package of competition reforms, which I'll announce with the Treasurer next month.
JOURNALIST: But on Mark's question, do you believe that the actions of the banks are threatening Australia's good economic (inaudible)
PM: I think the actions of the banks are impacting on Australians and they rightly feel ripped off. I am not putting the case and I did not yesterday put the case that the actions of the banks in this case threaten, for example the unemployment rate. I'm not putting that case, but Australian working people, rightly feel ripped off by these interest rate increases, they're the wrong thing to do, the Government knows they're the wrong thing to do, we've already introduced competition reforms and we will go further. Kieran?
JOURNALIST: China has agreed to a form of words taking its currency to a more market basis to avoid a form of protectionism (inaudible).
PM: There is still some work happening on that question. I believe an agreement will be reached. We should just not what this process is about, it's called a mutual assessment process and it's about having a way of assessing imbalances in the global economy between countries. We want to emerge from this G20 meeting with the process agreed to and with a timeline agreed to, there is still work and discussion underway about the timeline. Thank you