Australian PM warns of repeat financial 'storm'

The Associated Press ,  Canberra   |  Wed, 10/22/2008 12:51 PM  |  World

The world faces a repeat of the current financial turmoil unless the Group of 20 countries tackles the need for greater financial regulation, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Wednesday.

Rudd told Parliament that he had recently written to leaders of the G20, a group of the world's biggest economies which includes Australia, highlighting the need for further coordinated action on the current crisis.

The group will meet in Sao Paulo in Brazil on Nov. 8 and 9 to address the crisis.

Rudd said the G20 must coordinate international efforts to better regulate global financial markets.

"Unless this is coordinated through a mechanism such as the G20, our concern in Australia is once we see our way through this particular storm, if fundamental institutional reform questions are not dealt with, then in turn we face a repeat of this storm in the future," Rudd told Parliament.

As important as regulation, Rudd said the G20 must reach agreement on "a coordinated global economic stimulus in the face of slowing economic growth."

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