With many countries still struggling to pick themselves up after the global financial crisis, this year’s G20 will be largely focused on promoting economic growth and making the world economy more resilient to financial strife.
The summit's overarching goal is a commitment by world leaders to collectively boost global economic growth by two per cent over the next five years.
At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tony Abbott outlined Australia’s goals at the G20, saying the country was "in a unique position to promote global growth as chair of the G20."
"The whole agenda is focused on growth and jobs."
"This year's Brisbane summit will focus on a few key subjects because progress usually comes one step at a time," Mr Abbott said.
"Australia's aim is a communiqué just three pages long explaining precisely how good intentions are being put into practice.
"Like last year, this year’s G20 must be more than a talkfest."
Economic growth
Finance Minister Joe Hockey this week echoed those claims and said that the G20 focus would be on growth and jobs.
The comments came after China and the US announced a climate deal aimed at slashing their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
When asked about the US-China deal, Mr Hockey said he was sure it would be up for discussion at the summit.
"But they are part of the agenda. They are not the whole agenda,” he said.
"The whole agenda is focused on growth and jobs."
"The leaders that are coming here represent 85 per cent of the world economy," he said.
"As such there is a heavy burden on the shoulders of leaders and finance ministers to deliver on the plan to grow economic growth right across the world."
Global tax avoidance
Mr Hockey also said global tax avoidance would be addressed at the summit, with a focus on ensuring companies paid tax to the country where they earned the profits.
"It is theft when someone does not pay the tax that is due to a nation," he said.
"It undermines the ability of that nation to be able to deliver the sorts of services that are essential to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality."
A formal commitment to rein in companies that use profit shifting and other accounting tricks to avoid or evade tax is part the formal G20 negotiations.
Climate change
There has been much talk around the issue of climate change at the G20 and Tony Abbott's decision to take it off the agenda.
This debate gained steam this week after US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping reached a landmark agreement on clean energy.
In a statement issued by the White House, the US has adjusted its target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025. China targets to peak carbon emissions around 2030 and to increase the non-fossil fuel share of all energy to around 20 per cent by 2030.
Following the announcement, former Prime Minister Paul Keating told ABC's Lateline program that climate change "had to be" on the G20 agenda and criticised the government's Direct Action plan as a "complete nonsense policy”.
But Tony Abbott this week stuck to his guns, stating that the historic US-China deal on greenhouse gas emissions was welcome, but wouldn't put climate change on the G20 agenda.
More than 400 people buried their heads in the sand at Sydney's Bondi Beach
"This is a major economic conference, it is the world's premier economic conference," he said.
"I certainly expect the focus will be on economic reform, economic growth, how do we drive growth and jobs.
"That is my constant preoccupation."
He said Australia's aim to cut five per cent cut by 2020 could be met.
"We are talking about the here and now, we are talking about what Australia is doing, in Australia, right now," he said.
"We're not talking about what might hypothetically happen 15, 20, 25, 30 years down the track.
"We are talking about what we will do and are doing right now, and I think that's what the Australian people expect of us."
- With AAP
