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PM outlines G20 plan at close of summit

AAP

AAP

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has released the G20’s final plan for economic growth, pledging to work with world leaders to deliver real outcomes.

In his final address as G20 chair, Mr Abbott on Sunday thanked world leaders for attending the most influential gathering of world leaders in Australian history.

He said there had been a strong spirit of cooperation and moments of candour between the leaders, and a commitment to actually implement their “action plan”.

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“We have published these growth strategies so the world can see what we are committed to and the world can hold us to account,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“People right around the world are going to be better off and that’s what it’s all about.”

The overarching G20 goal was to boost global economic growth by 2.1 per cent by 2018, which if translated would add $2 trillion to economic activity.

AAP

World leaders attend the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership meeting at the G20 summit. Photo: AAP

Mr Abbott said a working session on trade, which he described as one of the most productive of this G20 weekend, had delivered a unanimous agreement that expanding global trade would directly benefit countries and people right around the world.

“Trade is a key driver of growth, perhaps the key driver of growth, and we’re focused on domestic reforms to facilitate trade as well as the importance of a strong global trading system.”

He also said a global infrastructure hub would be launched in Sydney as part of a wider initiative to address a global $70 trillion gap in infrastructure by 2030.

It would be funded by government and private sector contributions, he said.

Energy ministers would meet for the first time early next year to take work forward on a G20 energy efficiency action plan, Mr Abbott said.

“Energy I’m pleased to say is now at the heart of the G20’s agenda,” he said.

The communique from the Brisbane summit also included specific mention of climate change.

Mr Abbott said all leaders had voiced support for strong and effective action to address climate change.

“Our actions will support sustainable development, economic growth and certainty for business and investment and, of course, we will all work constructively towards the climate change conference in Paris next year.”

Greenhouse gas levels are at their highest point in 800,000 years.

Leaders voiced support for strong and effective action to address climate change. Photo: Shutterstock

The G20 leaders committed backed a global crackdown on tax avoidance by multinational companies.

“If banks get into trouble taxpayers should not be bailing them out,” Mr Abbott said.

“And big business must pay its fair share of tax and it must pay its fair share of tax in the jurisdiction where they earned the profits.”

It was put to Mr Abbott that there had been some disagreement among leaders on the extent to which climate change featured in the communique, and that US President Barack Obama had argued strongly against the prime minister’s position on the use of fossil fuels.

“As for coal, without going into the details of who said what to whom and exactly what intervention was about what subject, I should remind everyone that right now there are 1.3 billion people right around the globe who have no access whatsoever to electricity,” Mr Abbott said.

“And not only was the communique drafting process constructive and collegial but the discussion in the room today was very constructive and collegial.

“I just want to make that absolutely crystal clear, that from the very beginning, climate change was in the draft communique.”

The prime minister said labour market reforms were also crucial, of which lifting female participation was the “principal commitment”.

He said that if female participation was closer to male participation in every country of the G20, “billions if not trillions of dollars in additional growth” would be unlocked.

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