I enjoyed tonight’s community forum at Dickson very much. Issues raised included human rights in China, development in Campbell, support for hearing-impaired people, support for mental illness, income taxes & intergenerational equity, government advertising, carbon pricing, minerals taxation, public sector jobs, superannuation, trust in government, and clean energy investment. In particular, I appreciated some of the people who were willing to share very personal stories about mental illness, disability support and human rights.

If you’d like to come along to a future mobile office or community forum, a full list of dates is here.

Today I joined ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and Senator Don Farrell in opening the ACT’s own National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme station. Technology is developing at such a rapid rate that what was state-of-the-art only a few years ago soon becomes obsolete, and now households can recycle their unwanted televisions and computers. See media release below:

Senator Don Farrell
Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water

Katy Gallagher MLA
ACT Chief Minister
Minister for Territory and Municipal Services

Gai Brodtmann MP
Member for Canberra

Andrew Leigh MP
Member for Fraser

15 May 2012

FREE TV AND COMPUTER RECYCLING SCHEME OPENS FOR BUSINESS IN THE ACT

Australia today celebrates a major milestone in waste management with the first services under the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme opening for business in the ACT.

Householders delivering unwanted TVs and computers to the Mugga Lane waste transfer station in Canberra this morning were greeted by Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water, Senator Don Farrell, and ACT Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Katy Gallagher.

“This is an exciting first step for this important initiative, made possible by the Gillard Government’s landmark Product Stewardship legislation,” Senator Farrell said.

“People dropping off their unwanted televisions and computers for free here today, and in the future, can do so with the knowledge that these products will be recycled in an environmentally friendly way.

“Hazardous materials contained in these products, including lead, mercury and zinc, will be prevented from entering the environment through landfill. Valuable non-renewable resources, including gold and other precious metals will also be reclaimed for reuse.”

Continue reading ‘Free National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme’ »

On 31 May 2012, it will be 110 years since the signing of the peace treaty in the Boer War. The National Boer War Association has asked me to let descendants know about the memorial (the picture shows an artist’s rendering), and that special ‘descendants’ and ‘in memory’ medallions have been struck in honour of veterans.

Anyone who thinks they might be a descendant is encouraged to go to the Ancestor Search function on the Boer War Memorial website, or to contact the National Boer War Memorial Association.

Before parliament rose last Thursday, I spoke in favour of a bill to provide dad and partner pay. In fact, mine was the last speech before parliament rose (with the exception of some guy who trash-talked the economy for half an hour).

Paid Parental Leave and Other Legislation Amendment (Dad and Partner Pay and Other Measures) Bill 2012
10 May 2012

The work we do in this place impacts on people’s lives—often far more than we imagine at the time. This bill, the Paid Parental Leave (Dad and Partner and Other Measures) Bill 2012, is one such example. I want to start off by sharing with the House the story of a friend of mine, Damien Hickman, and how he felt about the two weeks leave that he took when his first child arrived. Liesel Grace Hickman arrived on 23 June last year. Damien said: ‘I just did not want to be anywhere else. My whole world shrank to this tiny four-kilogram bundle and the three-hourly cycles.’ He said: ‘It was like nothing I had experienced or could have prepared for. I was placed under this spell. She was the ultimate timewaster. I would just stare at her and half an hour would go by like 30 seconds. To be there for my partner, look after the house and be there as an extra pair of hands and support was pretty special.’

Continue reading ‘Dad and Partner Pay’ »

The Chronicle this week has a story about one of the first Canberrans to be connected to the National Broadband Network. You can read it here.

I’ll be out and about with two mobile offices tomorrow morning, and a community forum next Tuesday. Do drop by and say g’day.

Mobile Offices – Saturday 12 May

• Charnwood Shops (outside Woolworths), 10-11am
• Kippax Fair (Hardwick Crescent), 11.15am-12.15pm

Community forum -Tuesday 15 May

• Dickson Quality Hotel (Trevor Scott Room), 6pm

Times don’t suit? More events here.

This week, I met with a delegation of three Burmese members of parliament, newly elected to represent Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party. The photo shows me chatting with MP Phyo Zeya Thaw, who was also a hip-hop artist (in fact, that’s what got him into trouble with the regime). I asked Mr Thaw whether the regime had jailed him for his activism. His reply: “Only for 3 years and 3 months.” It was a humbling conversation.

I welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP that the Gillard Labor Government is providing $500,000 to the ACT Government as part of the Liveable Cities Program to help ‘Realise the Capital’ in our great city. 

The media release is below. 

MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT

THE HON ANTHONY ALBANESE MP

MEMBER FOR FRASER

ANDREW LEIGH MP 

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE 

Gillard Government Support Plan for More Livebale Capital 

I’m pleased to announce that Canberra will soon be home to an innovative project showcasing the best in urban design, planning and renewal, funded as part of our efforts to make the nation’s major cities more productive, sustainable and liveable. 

 The Gillard Labor Government is providing $500,000 to the ACT Government for a major planning project to unlock the potential of the city’s CBD and better integrate it with public transport, residential buildings, surrounding parklands  and ANU and CIT campuses. 

 The Canberra community will be invited to provide input into the masterplan – Realising the Capital in the City – which will become a blueprint to encourage people to visit, live and invest in the CBD. 

 It will support Walter Burley Griffin’s original vision for Canberra as a highly liveable city where people can participate with ease in its cultural, business and political activities. 

 The plan will also look at the feasibility of introducing a rapid transit system down Northbourne Avenue and the redevelopment of public housing immediately to the east and north of the CBD. 

 The ACT Government will work closely with the National Capital Authority to set out clear strategies for investment in the urban quality and amenity of Canberra’s city centre. 

 From a national perspective, this project is a great example of the kind of cooperation between governments needed to address the big challenges facing our cities such as climate change, a lack of affordable housing, traffic congestion and a growing, ageing population. 

 That’s why Federal Labor has ended the Commonwealth’s self-imposed, decade long exile from our major cities and is again engaging with the states and territories and local councils to bring about a much needed urban renaissance. 

 As one of the most urbanised societies on the planet, Australia’s future economic prosperity and social cohesion will depend largely on how successful we are at making our cities more productive, sustainable and liveable. 

 Realising the Capital in the City ($500,000 in program funding) is being funded as part of the Gillard Government’s Liveable Cities Program. 

Federal Member for Fraser, Andrew Leigh, welcomed the announcement. 

 ‘I believe that Canberra is the best city in Australia’, said Dr Leigh. ‘But we should always be thinking about ways of making a great city even better. With Canberra’s centenary coming up in 2013, this major planning project couldn’t be more timely.’

I spoke in parliament this morning about the new Trade Training Centres at Francis Xavier College and Merici College.

Trade Training Centres, 10 May 2012

The Australian government is establishing Trade Training Centres to help increase the proportion of students achieving year 12 or an equivalent qualification. Since parliament last sat it has been my pleasure to open two sites of an ACT trades training centre. The lead site of the Trade Training Centre is St Mary MacKillop College, and that was opened by the Prime Minister and Minister Garrett on 17 February 2012. It was my pleasure on 26 March to open the site at St Francis Xavier College and on 2 May to open the site at Merici College.

Continue reading ‘Trade Training Centres’ »

I’ve spoken twice in parliament this week about the economics of the budget and the opposition’s problematic costings.

• Matter of Public Importance, 8 May 2012
• Tax Reform, 9 May 2012

In the latest issue of Labor Voice, I argue that progressives should like economic growth. Full text over the fold.

The Pro-Growth Progressive: How Economic Reform Can Make Us Happier, Labor Voice, Issue 3, 2012
Andrew Leigh

As Australians, we’re used to economic growth [1]. It’s the benchmark by which governments are often judged. Yet it is easy to forget how unusual growth is in human history.

Go back a few centuries to the Victorian era and the average person was no better off than the average caveman [2]. There were a lucky few who enjoyed tea in china cups, but the true living standards of 1800 were better captured by Charles Dickens than Jane Austen.

Indeed, economic historian Greg Clark makes the point that on some measures, the vast mass of the world’s population were worse off in 1800 than their ancestors of 100,000BC. For example, Britons in the Victorian era were shorter – reflecting their poor diet and exposure to disease in childhood.

In 1800, life expectancy was around 30-35 years, pretty much what it was on the savannah. Citizens of 1800 probably worked longer hours than cavemen. From the Stone Age to the Renaissance, most people ate around 2000 calories a day, compared to the 3000 calories a day that we consume.

Continue reading ‘The Pro-Growth Progressive’ »

On Sky AM Agenda today, I spoke with host Kieran Gilbert and Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer about the return to surplus, the need for the Opposition budget reply to put forward some real policy, Peter Costello’s mooted comeback, and same-sex marriage.

With Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, I launched the ACT Healthier Work service today. Here’s our joint press release.

Healthy workers make healthy businesses
7 May 2012

ACT Chief Minister and Minister for Health Katy Gallagher MLA, together with Federal Member for Fraser Andrew Leigh MP, today launched a new one-stop shop for workplaces wanting advice on developing and implementing health and wellbeing programs.

Commenting on the launch of the new WorkSafe ACT Healthier Work service, the Chief Minister said healthier workplaces made good business and health sense.

“Given the amount of time most adults spend working, it makes sense to focus on promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace,” the Chief Minister said.

“The ACT is not alone in witnessing a significant increase in the burden of chronic disease. Tobacco smoking, the misuse of alcohol, poor nutrition, physical inactivity and obesity are the main risk factors.

Continue reading ‘Healthy Workers, Productive Firms’ »

My Chronicle column this month is on some of the extraordinary volunteers in the Canberra community.

Volunteers Appreciated, The Chronicle, 1 May 2012

Last year, a friend of mine was in Canberra Hospital for cancer treatment. When I asked him how it was going, his first response was to talk about the Hand and Foot massage volunteers that came to see him. ‘It’s not just that they massage my smelly feet’, he quipped. ‘But they stand there telling jokes too. It makes my treatment more bearable.’

Peter passed away in January, aged just 27. His description of volunteering stays with me. As the federal MP for the northside of Canberra, barely a day goes by when I don’t meet another inspiring group of volunteers.

Continue reading ‘National Volunteer Week’ »

On Sky’s Lunchtime Agenda program, I joined host David Lipson and Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos to discuss how a budget surplus puts downward pressure on interest rates, and why a National Disability Insurance Scheme is a higher priority than tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

I wrote in today’s Drum about the government’s aged care reforms.

Choosing Life Over Money in Our Old Age, The Drum, 2 May 2012

Quiz time. Over the past 40 years, average real incomes in Australia have doubled and life expectancy has increased by a decade. If you could have only one of those developments, which would you pick? Would you prefer twice the income, or to live a decade longer?

Continue reading ‘Living Longer, Living Better’ »

I spoke tonight at the Sydney Institute on the topic of inequality. My speech is below.

(See also reports in the SMH and Canberra Times, and an op-ed version in the National Times.)

Why Inequality Matters, and What We Should Do About It*

Andrew Leigh MP
Federal Member for Fraser
www.andrewleigh.com

Sydney Institute
May Day 2012

Introduction

Imagine a ladder, in which each rung represents a million dollars of wealth.[1] Imagine the Australian population spread out along this ladder, with their distance from the ground reflecting their household wealth.

On this ladder, half of all households are closer to the ground than they are to the first rung.

The typical Australian household is halfway to the first rung.

Someone in the top 10 percent is at least 1½ rungs up.

A household in the top 1 percent is at least 5 rungs up.

Gina Reinhardt is 5½ kilometres off the ground.

Continue reading ‘Why Inequality Matters, and What We Should Do About It’ »

I spoke yesterday on ABC 666 with Ross Solly about the events of recent days, and took calls from listeners. Here’s a podcast.

From 15 May, Canberans will be able to drop off old computers and TVs free of charge at the Mugga Lane and Mitchell recycling stations. It’s part of a joint ACT/Federal government scheme, funded by the computer and television industries. The ACT is the first jurisdiction to take it up. More details here.

In a short program on the ABC’s Radio Australia network, I spoke about foreign aid with Girish Sawlani. Here’s a podcast.

Senator Lisa Singh and I have an opinion piece in today’s Canberra Times on the implications of the rise of Asia for Australia. The full text is over the fold. It’s based on our submission to Ken Henry’s Asian Century white paper.

On the eve of ANZAC Day 2012, I thought I’d post one of the finest pieces I’ve read about Gallipoli: Peter Weir’s 2001 lecture, titled ‘Gallipoli: Shooting History’.

So far as I can work out, it’s not online, so thanks to Leonie Doyle for scanning it, and I hope the copyright holders won’t object.

Here’s a podcast of my chat this morning about science breakthroughs on ABC 666 with Alex Sloan.

And here’s a short version of the speech that was published on the ABC’s Drum website.

On ABC Radio National’s Sunday Extra program this morning, I spoke with host Jonathan Green and the aptronymous Helen Razer about social isolation and new media (Facebook, Twitter, email). Here’s a podcast.

With Liberal MP Andrew Laming and Greens Senator Richard Di Natale (who – unlike me – are both medical docs), I’ve proffered a few thoughts on FARE Australia’s 2012 alcohol survey.

Our comments are available on FARE’s website (intro, Leigh, Di Natale, Laming). Mine are also below.

Gauging Grog’s Guidelines, Drink Tank Blog, 20 April 2012

According to a 2010 Roy Morgan report, people who consume more than three drinks a day account for more than half of all alcohol sales. That fact sometimes makes me pause when I’m at a liquor store. Looking across the shelves of Boags, Bundy and Bordeaux, it’s striking to think that half the contents of the store will be drunk by people who exceed the Australian Guidelines for safe alcohol consumption.

Continue reading ‘Gauging Grog’s Guidelines’ »

My monthly column in the Chronicle newspaper is about reading.

National Year of Reading, The Chronicle, April 2012

When Dick Adams left high school, he wasn’t able to read or write. It didn’t worry him much. As he told his local paper, ‘I was too busy playing cricket, helping my family on the farm, hunting and fishing’. But eventually, he realised that it would be hard to get far in life without reading and writing, so he found an adult literacy teacher and spent four years learning to read and write.

Today, Dick is a federal MP for the seat of Lyons in Tasmania. At Parliament House, he occupies the office two doors down from mine. He’s someone I can always trust for advice, and I know I’m not the only parliamentarian who feels that way.

Continue reading ‘In Praise of Bookworms’ »

I gave a speech to a group of Sydney University students this morning on ‘Five Science Breakthroughs That Could Change Politics’. The text is below.

Continue reading ‘Five Science Breakthroughs That Could Change Politics’ »

I had my first appearance on ABC News 24′s The Drum yesterday evening where I was fortunate enough to be able to talk about one of my favourite topics – why Canberra is the best city in Australia. We also discussed the COAG Business Advisory Forum, the efficiency of a carbon price compared with the complexity of paying polluters, and skills training.

My op-ed in today’s Sydney Morning Herald discusses new research about how to make better decisions.

Spoilt by choice: how data ruins decisions, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April 2012

In a share-trading experiment, two groups of university students were pitted against one another. One team saw only share prices, while the other team could also consult experts and media reports. The result? The better-informed team ended up reacting to rumours and gossip, made too many trades, and earned half as much as their less-informed classmates.

In his book How We Decide, Jonah Lehrer discusses a host of situations in which too much information leads us to make worse decisions. Guidance counsellors who can only see test scores do a better job of predicting whether students will perform well at university than when they can also draw upon essays and a personal interview. In the case of back pain, doctors who obtain an MRI scan are more likely to misdiagnose the patient as having disc abnormalities, and more likely to erroneously prescribe intensive medical interventions. Doctors are now advised not to get scans done on patients with non-specific lower back pain.

Continue reading ‘The Art of Choosing’ »