Apec leaders donned sombre brown ponchos for their official photograph at their annual summit, the outfits matching the economic message Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took from the gathering.
The former foreign affairs official is celebrating the first anniversary of Labor’s federal election win in Peru, where regional leaders have just finished a two-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.
The summit in Lima, like the G20 Washington meeting a week before, was dominated by the faltering global economy and the havoc it is wreaking on jobs and growth.
Rudd told reporters his discussions on the economy had been “sobering and confronting”.
In a reflection of the austere times facing economies across the globe, leaders were blanketed in a dull brown.
Rudd, however, was diplomatic about the outfit.
“I think it’s a very nice poncho, it’s a good poncho,” he said.
He applauded the decision by Asia Pacific economies to back the G20 action plan to help solve the global financial crisis.
“We will act quickly and decisively to address the impending global economic slowdown,” leaders said in the final Apec declaration.
“We … will take all necessary economic and financial measures to resolve this crisis.”
Speaking to reporters on the eve of his anniversary as prime minister, Rudd expressed pride in his ministry but said he won’t rule out a reshuffle as he enters his second year in office.
“I am proud of the cabinet, the ministry, the executive because they have performed very well in the first year in office,” he said..
“They have been diligent, they have been hardworking … I think they have performed as a very good team.
“That’s my view, I haven’t change from that (but) my other view is that we’ve all got to remain on our mettle.”
Looking at the past year, Rudd said it had been important for the government to keep promises it made to the community during the last federal election.
“For us as a government, what’s been important to us is to implement our election commitments to the Australian people and to tackle with both hands and act decisively on the global financial crisis,” he said.
“We have been as meticulous as possible putting together what we said we’d do and implementing them.
“That is a good thing to do, it’s part of maintaining trust with the Australian people.”
The economic outlook the Rudd government inherited last November is very different to the current turbulent situation, and it has already had to slash its expectations for the budget surplus and revise up the unemployment forecast and down growth projections.
“What I feel is the next year is going to be tougher and harder. It’s going to involve a lot of hard work and a very tough year ahead – not just for the government. For the economy, Australian people, families, this will be a very tough year,” Rudd said.
He flagged the need for “tough decisions”, which would be helped by the trusting relationship the government had built with the people.
