G20 Branded a Success by NFP Sector

The G20 Summit in Brisbane has been branded a success by social sector leaders with more room to grow.

Speaking on behalf of the C20 (Civil Society 20) World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello said the meeting of leaders of the world’s most powerful countries had addressed some important global issues.

“The world needed a break and this G20 has undoubtedly provided a step forward. We certainly haven’t gone backwards,” Costello said.

“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.”

The C20 also welcomed the commitment by the G20 Leaders to a two per cent growth target above projection, but said it 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,” a statement from the C20 said.

“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.”

Costello, who spruiked the need for the G20 to address growing economic inequality in the lead up to the event, said he was not completely disappointed.

“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.”