Business 20 (B20) Australia Summit was held in Sydney, Australia on 18 July 2014. At the Summit, the business leaders of G20 countries issued a blueprint for G20 leaders to boost economic and job growth and make global economy more resilient to deal with future shocks.
The B20 Australia Summit was chaired by Richard Goyder, Managing Director and CEO of Wesfarmers
The blueprint is the result of a set of 20 mutually reinforcing recommendations for action by G20 leaders. These 20 recommendations include among others
- Implement unilateral structural reforms for diversified and sustained growth
- Close infrastructure gap which could create 100 million jobs and generate 6 trillion US dollars
- Create human capital in the right place, at the right time with the right skills
- Allow private sector investment which is a prerequisite for sustained and inclusive economic growth
- Frame policies that ensures greater structural flexibility and freedom of movement across borders of goods, services, labour and capital within an effective regulato
- Framework which promotes transparency in commerce
- Ensure safely regulated, accessible and affordable finance
If these recommendations are implemented, the G20 would not only meet but exceed the two percent additional growth target set by G20 Finance Ministers in February 2014. The G20 has set a target of lifting collective GDP by two per cent above the trajectory.
B20 recommendations are drawn from four common themes that are critical to success in a global economy. These are
- Structural flexibility
- Free movement across borders of goods, services, labour and capital
- Consistent and effective regulation
- Integrity and credibility in commerce
In order to boost economic growth and create job opportunities, B20 gave five messages for policy makers. These are
- The urgent goal is growth and jobs to lift living standards around the world. There is no room for complacency
- The G20 is the right forum to pursue this goal, because it is the only forum capable of achieving the coordinated action necessary to drive and shape the global economy
- The G20 has set a realistic and necessary growth target, but now must focus on how that target will be achieved
- B20 has identified policy principles to meet the target by focussing on the major impediments to growth and jobs creation
- The B20 recommendations require collective agreement by the G20 for unilateral action by each member country
About B20
The Business 20 (B20) is a forum through which the private sector produces policy recommendations for the annual meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) leaders.
The B20 brings together business leaders from across G20 member countries to reflect the key role of the private sector as the main driver of strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
The B20 was first convened as a business summit during the Canadian G20 Presidency in June 2010. The second B20 Summit was held under the Korean presidency of G20. In 2011, under the G20 presidency of France, the third B20 Summit was held. In 2012 and 2013, the fourth and fifth B20 Summit was held under the G20 Presidency of Mexico and Russia.
The B20 Summit was made a permanent event during the French G20 presidency in 2011.
As President of the G20 in 2014, Australia has established a B20
As President of the G20 in 2014, Australia has established a B20