Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that the global financial crisis has a long way top run.

Mr Rudd said he had earlier today discussed the ongoing crisis with Treasury officials and the Reserve Bank of Australia in the wake of recent developments in financial markets.

US investment banking giant Lehman Brothers was yesterday forced to file for bankruptcy as a result of the fallout from the global credit crunch.

Mr Rudd told parliament today that the government was undertaking a number of concrete measures to combat the global financial crisis and protect the Australian economy.

The government was supporting a push for greater transparency in global financial markets, a lack of which had in part gone to the heart of the credit crunch problem, Mr Rudd said.

The government had also acted to boost liquidity in the Australian economy by expanding the government bond market to ensure that broader financial markets operate effectively, he said.

“These are concrete measures we’ve taken in response to the advice provided to us from Treasury and others in the first six months of this year because upon taking office we were acutely conscience that this global financial crisis was not over, it had a long way to run,” Mr Rudd said.

“And as the events in the United States have demonstrated in the last 24 hours, regrettably, there’s a long way to run yet.”

Mr Rudd said the government was determined to prosecute a policy of responsible economic management to assist in seeing Australia through what he described as difficult global economic challenges.

AAP