SYDNEY - Reforms proposed to lift global growth in line with a target set by the world's biggest economies earlier this year are so far falling short, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said Monday.
In February, the G20 economies vowed to boost global growth by more than US$2 trillion over five years, shifting their focus away from austerity as a fragile recovery takes hold. But as Australia prepares to host the G20 summit in Brisbane in November, Hockey told The Australian newspaper that more work needed to be done.
"The submissions are not meeting our ambitious target at the moment and I expect that a number of jurisdictions will improve their effort," Hockey told the broadsheet.
"I'll be speaking to individual finance ministers over the next few weeks, around the world, to encourage them to be more proactive."
G20 finance ministers and central bank governors said in February they aimed to lift their collective gross domestic product by more than two percentage points over the next five years.
In a communique following their meeting in Sydney, the world's top economies said the "realistic" target could be achieved by increasing investment, lifting employment and enhancing trade.