G20: our economy up with the best, says Turnbull

The PM will boast that Australia’s economic growth is still performing favourably next to the advanced economies.

Malcolm Turnbull said he had wanted to discuss economic reform, countering terrorism and balancing energy­ reliability and cost with cutting emissions at the G20. Picture: Adam Yip

Malcolm Turnbull will boast that Australia’s economic growth is still performing favourably next to the world’s advanced economies, citing 26 consecutive years of posit­ive growth, in an economic agenda submitted to the G20 meet­ing of world leaders today in Hamburg.

While national security and North Korea are set to dominate the economic summit, Australia’s submission argues the forecast return­ to real GDP growth rates of 3 per cent from next year are well above the forecast average for all advanced economies.

Scott Morrison told The Aust­ralian the G20 economic agenda was finally turning the corner, with increasingly positive global economic forecasts. “The Turnbull government is positioning Australia to take full advantage of the increasingly positive global econo­mic outlook,” the Treasurer said.

“The Prime Minister heads to the G20 with a great story to tell about Australia’s economic perform­ance and agenda.

“We are ensuring businesses remain competitive against their global peers, and have the confidence to back themselves to invest and create jobs.

“We are also investing $75 billion in infrastructure that will help deliver a productivity boost to our economy, and grow our regions.’’

Mr Morrison said the government was “committed to making the right choices that will encourage investment in Australia”.

“The recent run of positive economic news, including strong retail sales figures, growing servic­es exports, unemployment falling to four-year lows and job advertisements at a six-year high in May, can give Australians confid­ence that better days are ahead.”

While the submission contains the major budget initiatives and recent education package, it made no mention of the bank tax.

Mr Turnbull’s first meeting when he arrived in Hamburg was with the host nation’s leader, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Business leaders will watch whether global security issues stall economic reform at the summit, and that proposed new bilateral trade deals do not see the world plunge into a new era of trade wars and protectionism.

Before the summit, Mr Turnbull said he had wanted to discuss economic reform, countering terrorism and balancing energy­ reliability and cost with cutting emissions.

Security in Hamburg was stepped up yesterday, with 21,000 police brought in to deal with tens of thousands of protesters angry over globalisation, capitalism and a perceived lack of action on clim­ate change. Germany’s second-biggest city was in lockdown, with organisers of a demonstration yesterday naming the event “G20: Welcome to Hell”.

Although protests have been mostly calm, city police chief Ralf Martin Meyer told ZDF television: “We are sceptical as to whether … tonight will remain­ peaceful.”

A private meeting at a Hamburg hotel between Ms Merkel and Donald Trump, their third face-to-face talk since Mr Trump became US President, was said to be a key tone-setter. The two have clashed over climate change, defence and Mr Trump’s “America First” policy.

In an interview on Wednesday, Ms Merkel criticised the US for its focus on protectionism instead of co-operation. “While we are looking for ways to work together for benefits for everyone, the US administration sees globalisation as a process that is not about win-win situations, but about winners and losers,” she told Die Zeit weekly.

additional reporting: AAP