G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, Cairns

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Video Transcript: Australia's Treasurer Joe Hockey and US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew joint press conference



19 September 2014
Cairns

Joe Hockey, Treasurer of Australia: Thank you very much for coming along. I thought all the stands would be full of people, but perhaps not.

Jack, can I welcome you formally back to Australia. You are a great friend of Australia. And certainly in our discussions you have been a terrific friend of mine. I appreciate the time that you have taken to come out. It is a long way from the United States, I am sure you have a lot on your plate. I will ask you to say a few words and then I will say a few words. And then we will move on.

Jack Lew, United States Secretary of the Treasury: Thank you very much, Joe, thank you for the gracious welcome here to Australia. Thank you all for being here today. I look forward to a productive meeting of the G20 this week and discussing a range of important issues.

Since we met last in Australia, the US economy has strengthened. Real GDP rebounded in the second quarter, growing by a robust 4.2 per cent annual rate. The unemployment rate is at a six-year low and over the past 54 months our private sector has created 10 million new jobs.

The US continues to be a source of strength in the global economy. Overall, the global economy continues to under-perform. This is particularly true in the euro area and Japan, while a number of emerging market economies are also slowing. More work is needed to achieve faster and more balanced growth, to boost demand, especially in surplus countries and to promote employment.

Part of this growth agenda is a focus on investment and infrastructure. We see investment, both public and private, as a key to boosting growth. We welcome Australia’s focus on growth and look forward to discussing this over the next few days.

We also welcome Australia’s leadership in promoting financial stability through the international financial reform agenda that it set for the G20. The United States has played an important role in this effort, but there is still work to do to raise global standards and promote a safer, sounder financial system.

I welcome the progress made by the Financial Stability Board over the past few days and the emerging consensus on the total loss absorbing capacity proposal, which now positions us to deliver on the Brisbane Summit commitment. This important standard will help facilitate the early resolution of systemically important banks and will protect taxpayers from bearing the burden of any global bank's failure.

There is also important work being done at the G20 to level the playing field by helping combat tax evasion and tax avoidance by multinational corporations. In the US, we need business tax reform with anti-inversion provisions to close loopholes and make our tax system more competitive. While that will take time, I have been urging Congress to enact legislation to address the problem of inversions. And as I have said before, we at the Treasury are preparing to take action. But Congress will still need to act.

Tax avoidance is a global issue. The G20, through its BEPS project, is also aiming to end the race to the bottom.

Lastly, as we face global challenges, ranging from Russia's illegal actions that undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine, to working to aggressively counter the threat of ISIL, I would like to thank Treasurer Hockey for the ongoing partnership our two countries share. And I look forward to working with Treasurer Hockey on the important goals that we need to accomplish at this gathering and beyond. And again, I thank you for your gracious welcome and warm hospitality.

Joe Hockey, Treasurer of Australia: Thank you very much, Jack. On behalf of Australia, again, thank you for your leadership in so many different areas in relation to the G20. You are absolutely right, we will be very focused on how to achieve our ambitious 2 per cent improvement in GDP by 2018. The submissions that have come in, in excess of 900 submissions, from participating countries, have been carefully sorted through.

I think it is hugely important the contribution that countries have made, and infrastructure is a key part of that agenda. Greater involvement of the private sector in delivering infrastructure is hugely significant issue for G20 countries. America has, in many ways, been a great example of what can be achieved. The Grow America Act is a wonderful initiative from you and the President, Jack. It is a reflection of the fact that we need to engage with the private sector and we need to build new and better infrastructure for our economies.

I also appreciate the support that you’ve provided for a number of initiatives we have been involved with, from setting up an information hub for global infrastructure, through to leadership in financial services regulation. As you said, Jack, the work of the FSB here over the last few days has been very encouraging, very encouraging. And there is a very real chance we can have some very good breakthroughs by the end of the weekend.

Bearing all of that in mind, we are a very close partner of the US in many areas. As you identified, we are partners with a number of other countries in addressing the threat of terrorism. Not only internationally, but also at home. Of course we share similar concerns about the destiny of the Ukraine and we join with you in applying sanctions were appropriate.

Overall, thank you for coming and for your delegation coming. We look forward to further very constructive dialogue in relation to G20 and other matters in the next few days.

Thank you. Good on you. Thank you.

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