As the curtain falls on the Brisbane G20 Leaders Summit, six Griffith University experts offered their thoughts on the summit’s legacy. Their responses were mixed, covering a shift towards the Asia Pacific, the move on climate change and a significant change in international economic policy-making. They also considered how the summit was run, the Obama factor and how the Australian government came out of it all.
Professor Andrew O’Neil, Head of School of Government and International Relations
What has the Brisbane G20 Summit achieved? “A recommitment to global tax reform and targeting tax avoidance, plusthe message to developing world countries that poverty reduction remains a key mission of the G20.”
How will the Brisbane G20 Summit be remembered? “As a particularly well run and managed meeting with a focused agenda and clear-cut outcomes.”
Professor Tony Makin, Professor of Economics, Griffith Business School
What has the Brisbane G20 Summit achieved? “TheG20 Summithas laudably achieved agreement ona range of economic policy initiativesaimed atraisingworld growthbyaroundtwo per cent overthe next fiveyears.”
How will the Brisbane G20 Summit be remembered? “The Brisbane Action Plan will be remembered asa major sea change ininternational economic policymaking that shifts attentionaway from a fixation on aggregate demand management toward structural reform as a way ofbolstering flagging globalgrowth.”
Professor Fabrizio Carmignani, Professor of Economics, Griffith Business School
What has the Brisbane G20 Summit achieved? “The explicitrecognition that growth has to be inclusive is an important step in the right direction. On the down side, it seems that leaders (and Mr. Abbott in particular) equate inclusiveness with job creation. There is more to inclusiveness than job creation.”
How will the Brisbane G20 Summit be remembered? “I think that the Summit will be remembered for its attempt at (i)pushing leaders to commit to specific actions (i.e. the quantitative target on growth, but also some specific actions on infrastructure development and climate change, and (ii) establishing some sort of monitoring mechanism to see if countries stick to their commitment (i.e. the decision to have IMF-OECD monitoring the implementation of the growthtarget).”
Dr Wesley Widmaier, G20 Studies, Centre for Governance and Public Policy
What has the Brisbane G20 Summit achieved? “A major achievement was reversing the misguided stress on fighting inflation that dominated some recent G20 summits and placing a stress on the ongoing problem of restoring growth and full employment.”
How will the Brisbane G20 Summit be remembered? “The 2014 Brisbane G20 summit – following on the US-China environmental successes at APEC – may be seen as part of a continued shift in the global centre of gravity toward the Asia-Pacific region.”
Professor Jeremy Williams, Director, Asia Pacific Centre for Sustainable Enterprise
What has the Brisbane G20 Summit achieved? “It succeeded in putting climate change firmly on the agenda when the Abbott government made every effort to keep it off. This provides some much needed momentum for a new climate agreement in Paris next December.”
How will the Brisbane G20 Summit be remembered? “For the international statesmanship of President Obama. He stole the show with his landmark speech at the University of Queensland.The young people in attendance worried about climate change will have been greatly inspired by him.”
Professor John Kane, School of Government and International Relations
What has the Brisbane G20 Summit achieved? “The big story was really the Obama-China move on climate change and now Obama’s billions commitment to a global fund, which was embarrassing for the Australian government.”
How will the Brisbane G20 Summit be remembered? “The G20 proved Brisbane and Australia could host a major international forum effectively, if expensively.”