Rudd, Swan to get 'dismal insight' at crisis talks
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The talks were arranged by the Australian Industry Group. (AAP Image: Alan Porritt)
Industry leaders say today's emergency meeting in Sydney will give the Prime Minister and Treasurer an insight into the "dismal" prospects facing some Australian businesses.
Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan will hold crisis talks with business leaders in Sydney on the impact of the global financial meltdown.
The heads of companies like BHP, Deloittes, Microsoft and Xstrata will be briefed and give feedback on the Government's plans and their expectations for the future.
The meeting has been organised by the Australian Industry Group's Heather Ridout, who says many businesses are facing an incredibly uncertain outlook.
"They're already there, but there's a lot of other companies that have been busy and remain having full order books that are seeing something happening," she said.
"I think there's an expectation that it's going to really crunch them going forward."
Farmers in crisis
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke is also holding emergency talks today with farmers and banking representatives.
The National Farmers' Federation's Ben Fargher is also worried about how the US and Europe might respond to the crisis.
"Historically they have put in place large subsidies to respond to this type of issue," he said.
Mr Burke says he will be pushing the banks to pass on the recent interest rate cut to help farmers who are struggling.
"There is no doubt that we could not leave it any longer before we made sure that all the major players involved in the farming sector, got together and said 'these are the global circumstances, how can Australia be best positioned'," he said.
