THE PROBLEM: The Group of Twenty (G20) is an association of twenty advanced economies whose purpose is to promote “strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth”. It has been meeting at the ministerial level since 1999 and the leader level since 2008. Australia is a member, along with other major economies such as China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. The G20 is increasingly important to the management of the global economy. It played a major role in bringing back financial stability during the 2007–08 global financial crisis (GFC), including committing to a US$5 trillion stimulus in April 2009. Research by Brookings has shown that the impact of fiscal stimulus can double when it is coordinated across the G20. One of Australia’s previous sherpas, or personal representatives of the government, David Gruen, has said the measures the G20 implemented during the GFC directly and indirectly affected Australian lives.