Julia Gillard has advised European leaders to “fast forward” their effort to pull Greece out of its financial crisis, accusing the union’s leaders of “muddling through” efforts to curb the debt crisis.
Currently meeting with world leaders at the G20 summit in Cannes, the Prime Minister said she was prepared to increase Australia’s contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to safeguard the well being of the global economy.
Ms Gillard supported a deal being put forward by euro zone leaders last week that would put a cap on spending rates in Greece, saying the “plans need to be implemented.”
“The G20 can play a role by bolstering political will and increasing IMF resources,” she said.
But the opposition leader Tony Abbott is against Australia helping the European economy, challenging Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan in parliament, asking: “Why is the government planning to provide money it does not have to prop up the eurozone, which is the world’s largest economy?”
Swan then retaliated by calling Abbott xenophobic for not wanting to assist Greece through their dire situation. Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou called a referendum on the deal, put forward instead of the tough austerity measures initially planned. In response to the proposed referendum, Gillard urged the IMF yesterday to increase resources ensuring there would be enough funds to deal with future crises.
Swan also agrees that Greece should be doing more to overcome the budget crisis and “restore stability and support growth in Europe.”
“Greece’s failure to act has done nothing to ease concerns about Europe’s capacity to deal with the sovereign debt crisis,” Swan said in a statement. “Of any country, Greece should be working hardest to make this plan work.”