Andrew Leigh

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TV INTERVIEW
SKY AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH KIERAN GILBERT
WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2023

SUBJECTS: Cost of living pressures, Interest rates, CPI, and housing.

KIERAN GILBERT (HOST): Let's return now to the politics of the day. With me is Assistant Minister for the Treasury Andrew Leigh. Andrew, thanks for your time. We heard from Governor Lowe, his appearance before the Senate estimates today. But I want to start with that monthly inflation number. Does it mean the RBA is more likely to hike rates again next week?

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES, COMPETITION, AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Kieran, the monthly inflation number is just an inflation indicator at this stage. It'll be a full inflation measure from next year, but right now it doesn't cover the full basket, so you should expect it to be a little bit more volatile. When you strip fuel out of the equation, then inflation actually falls on this monthly number and the fuel number seems to be largely driven by indexation, which, as you know, happens twice a year. So, I don't think it's a major cause for concern. Most economists would agree that the inflation peak has passed.

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RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC AFTERNOONS WITH LEON DELANEY
THURSDAY, 25 MAY 2023 

SUBJECTS: Additional Assistant Minister responsibilities, Australian Centre for Evaluation, John Gorton Drive Bridge project.

LEON DELANEY (HOST): It's eight past five now on 2CC, it's Canberra Live. If you want me to talk to a Federal politician how about we welcome to the program our own local representative for the seat of Fenner here in the northern part of Canberra.

Dr Andrew Leigh, good afternoon.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon, Leon. And unlike some of your listeners, I will never tell you how to run your show!

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR EVALUATION TO MEASURE WHAT WORKS

The 2023‑24 Budget includes $10 million over four years to establish an Australian Centre for Evaluation (ACE) in the Australian Treasury. The Australian Centre for Evaluation will improve the volume, quality, and impact of evaluations across the Australian Public Service (APS), and work in close collaboration with evaluation units in other departments and agencies.

The Australian Centre for Evaluation will help ensure government programs deliver value for money. The Albanese Government is committed to respecting taxpayers’ money and ensuring that we achieve results for Australians. This means knowing what works, and what can work better.

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RADIO INTERVIEW
6PR MONEYNEWS WITH KARALEE KATSAMBANIS
MONDAY, 22 MAY 2023

SUBJECTS: Designated complaints function at the ACCC, Treasury evaluation unit, and funding for ACNC.

KARALEE KATSAMBANIS (HOST): And welcome back to Money News, 133 8882 or you can send me a text 0487 999 882, as I said at the top of the show. I am delighted to be joined now by Dr Andrew Leigh who is Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury with some great new initiatives that he has introduced. Dr Leigh, good evening. 

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Good evening, Karalee, great to be with you and your listeners.

KATSAMBANIS: It is lovely. We've had you on the show a couple of times since last year. So it's always great to touch base with you. Now, one of the things that I really wanted to have you talk about is you have ‑ well, you have introduced a Designed Complaints function that's going to be introduced to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, better known as the ACCC. It's going to make it easier for consumer and small business groups, which you know there are a lot here in Western Australia, who lodge complaints about systemic issues. So can you just tell us why you have decided to introduce this? 

Rebuilding Communities in a ‘Friendship Recession'

The Daily Telegraph, 22 May 2023

How many people can you talk to without having to watch what you say? In 1984, Australian adults averaged nine trusted friends. A generation later it had fallen to five.

Two decades ago the typical person got together socially with others about once a week. In a new survey, the average person's response was closer to once a fortnight.

Even before the pandemic community engagement was declining. In Reconnected: A Community Builder's Handbook, Nick Terrell and I documented a drop in the share of Australians playing organised sport, volunteering, attending religious services, joining a union, donating to charity or joining community organisations.

Are we facing a friendship recession? The evidence certainly seems to point that way. Compared with four decades ago, Australians have almost half as many friends and we catch up with our mates only about half as often.

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DOORSTOP
WRECK BAY VILLAGE
FRIDAY 19 MAY 2023

Subjects: Housing investment in Wreck Bay Indigenous community, importance of housing to closing the gap, Wreck Bay’s PFAS class action

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY, ANDREW LEIGH: Kristy McBain and I are here in Wreck Bay village to announce a historic investment in housing in the local community. We know that for too long housing in this community has been in a state of disrepair. In the last Budget we allocated $5 million as an initial step to make a difference. In this Budget we announced a historic $45.1 million over eight years. This will be working in consultation with the community to repair and build the housing that the community needs. Closing the Gap is one of the critical issues for this government and at the heart of Closing the Gap is improving the quality of housing in Indigenous communities. The Wreck Bay community is an unusual one, it doesn’t have state or territory representatives, it only has representatives in the Federal Parliament. And as the member for Fenner I’ve been arguing consistently for more support for this extraordinary local community. We’ve also got a bill before parliament right now that will provide greater governance for the Wreck Bay community, allowing better long-term arrangements for the community. And we’re putting in place a new mobile tower which will improve the problems with mobile reception that we’ve known exist in this community. It was a policy we took to the last election and I’m very pleased to see the Albanese Government delivering on mobile coverage for the Wreck Bay community.

$45.1 MILLION FOR HOUSING IN WRECK BAY

The Australian Government is committing $45.1 million to invest in housing on Aboriginal Land in Wreck Bay Village in the Jervis Bay Territory as part of the 2023-24 Budget’s $1.9 billion investment in initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

This investment will support a capital works program to fix the disrepair of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council’s residential housing stock. This builds on our investment of $5 million in 2022.

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TV INTERVIEW
AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH KIERAN GILBERT
THURSDAY, 18 MAY 2023

SUBJECTS: Unemployment rate, minimum wage submission, Voice to Parliament.

KIERAN GILBERT (HOST): On one of our top stories today, an increase in the unemployment rate from 3.5 to 3.7 per cent. I spoke a short time ago with the Assistant Minister for the Treasury, Andrew Leigh.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Kieran, these are still extraordinary unemployment figures. To have an unemployment rate below 4 per cent is still essentially full employment in the Australian economy. Our Budget forecast that there would be a modest rise in the unemployment rate, but we do hope to maintain full employment because it's so important for ensuring that people have jobs, that we see equity in the labour market and that we see those steady wage rises, including the substantial wage rise number we saw this week.

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TV INTERVIEW
AFTERNOON BRIEFING WITH GREG JENNETT  
WEDNESDAY, 17 MAY 2023

SUBJECTS: PwC scandal, deductible gift recipient listings, Stage 3 tax cuts, Housing Australia Future Fund

GREG JENNETT (HOST): Andrew Leigh, thanks for coming back on the programme. Why don't we start out around multinational taxation? Because it does seem with each and every further investigation by the Parliament, the PwC scandal only grows. For those who aren't familiar peddling ill-gotten information and profiting from it, AusTender shows that PwC still has on foot, millions of dollars worth of contracts. Will they pay a price with this government, financially, I mean, because of this sorry episode?

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Well, the first thing to say, Greg, is this was an appalling, shocking breach of trust by PwC. To effectively take this insider information and to use it to peddle a scheme for their clients is utterly outrageous. And I think the reaction you've seen across the community reflects that. I'm glad they set up an inquiry with Ziggy Switzkowski. I'd urge them to fully release the results of that inquiry. In terms of what it means for PwC's tenders, Katy Gallagher, as Finance Minister, has asked for a review of the conditions under which tenderers are selected and whether such a code of conduct should go to behaviour of this kind.

Joint media release with
The Hon Amanda Rishworth
Minister for Social Services

GETTING MORE YOUNG PEOPLE BACK INTO VOLUNTEERING

The Albanese Labor Government is investing in the future of the volunteering sector with a funding boost designed to connect 5000 young people with volunteering organisations across the country.

This National Volunteering Week, a total of $1 million in additional funding will be given to Communiteer this financial year with the task of building the number of youth in volunteering roles.

Research shows that young people who engage in volunteering prior to entering the workforce are more likely to have a lifelong connection to volunteering.