PSI has also been following the G20’s work on infrastructure investment, jobs and austerity. PSI has been arguing for reforms to the tax system to fund quality public services and public infrastructure to reduce inequality and promote economic growth.

The G20 leaders meeting will be preceded by a number of other Labour and Civil Society events.

PSI is participating in an affiliate’s forum on the morning of 13 November, the theme of which is Privatisation, Universal Health Care and Tax Justice. At the event, PSI will release research showing that universal public health care is affordable and efficient. This event will be held at the Queensland Nurses’ Union offices, 106 Victoria Street, West End, Brisbane.

The forum is organised by PSI affiliate New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) and other affiliates from Australia and globally. It will highlight the alternatives to the G20’s free trade, privatisation and austerity agenda and how fair tax measures, such as the OECDs BEPS agenda and a Financial Transactions Tax, could raise the necessary funding from the growing profits of multinational enterprises to meet the needs of universal health care if the political will was present.

The NSWNMA is also holding a two-week bus tour from Sydney to Brisbane to highlight tax justice issues in the funding of universal quality healthcare. It will stop each day at regional hospitals and arrive at the Gold Coast on 12 November.

PSI is participating in the L20 on 13-14 November to promote public sector union interests. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) are co-ordinating the L20 events; registration for these has occurred through national centres. Please contact your national centre for advice if you wish to attend. More information can be found here: http://www.ituc-csi.org/l20

Civil Society is planning a range of events in the lead up to the summit, many of which are of interest to PSI and our affiliates. A G20 People’s Convergence is planned for November 8-16, culminating in a summit called Visioning Another World on 12-14 November. PSI and affiliates will be participating in many of these events. More details can be found here:

http://briscan.net.au/peoples-convergence/peoples-summit/

http://briscan.net.au/peoples-convergence/

General information about the Leaders Meeting provided by the Australian Government can be found here: https://www.g20.org/