Andrew Leigh

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PRESS CONFERENCE
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN MINT, CANBERRA
TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2022

SUBJECTS: Changes to Australia’s currency as a result of the passing of Queen Elizabeth the II

DR ANDREW LEIGH, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES, AND TREASURY: Good morning. Thank you very much for joining us here today. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. We are meeting on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal People so let me acknowledge their elders. [Ngunnawal language greeting omitted] 

I'm here with Leigh Gordon, the CEO of the Royal Australian Mint to talk about the process that Australia will go through in changing Australian coins. Since 1953, the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on Australian coins. Australia has never known decimal currency that didn't have the face of Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1966, when decimal currency was introduced, over 15 billion coins have been produced bearing the face of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Queen Elizabeth the Second first appeared on Australian coins when those coins were pence and shillings. It will be a remarkable moment when Australia moves from having not a queen on the coins, but a king.

The Royal Australian Mint is well prepared for this eventuality, and will engage with its British counterpart to obtain an appropriate effigy. That effigy will then be confirmed with Buckingham Palace and tested before being put into production sometime in 2023. Australians should expect to see a king on Australian coins. The process of changing the effigy is unusual in moving to a new monarch but the Mint isn't unfamiliar with the process of changing the Queen's effigy.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC Canberra

THURSDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2022

Subjects: New funding for the ABS to measure barriers to employment participation, use of data in policy making, Stage 3 tax cuts

ADAM SHIRLEY: Today, new funding is being announced to increase the collection of data on disadvantage. And there are many kinds of disadvantage, some of which you might be experiencing right now. The Australian Bureau of Stats will receive an extra $4 million to measure barriers and incentives to labour force participation, which then goes to or wages that you can rely on, that you can earn to then do things like buy a home. It's hoped this extra data will provide info on barriers for women, people with a disability, older people, First Nations people, for just a few. Andrew Leigh, Dr Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and treasury and he's keen on this. Dr Leigh, good morning to you. Thank you for your time.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning, Adam. Always great to be with you.

ADAM SHIRLEY: And I know that you've made a career out of collecting analysing data, but in the real world sense, in the examples I just provided, why is this data really important?

THE HON AMANDA RISHWORTH MP

MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES

MEMBER FOR KINGSTON

THE HON ANDREW LEIGH MP

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY

MEMBER FOR FENNER

FUNDING THE AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS TO BETTER COLLECT DATA ON DISADVANTAGE

MEDIA RELEASE

THURSDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2022

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will receive an additional $4 million to better measure barriers and incentives to labour force participation.  

Following the successful Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra last week, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth will today announce new funding to increase the frequency of data collection to annually, up from every two years currently, with a partial data release to occur quarterly.

The move will ensure Government, business and policy makers can be better armed with information on what is preventing disadvantaged cohorts from entering the workforce. For Government in particular it will assist in targeting future policy responses.

Current survey data does not allow for robust estimates on barriers and incentives for participation specific to key sub-populations. To supplement survey data and provide improved insights on the unique barriers and incentives relevant to these sub-populations, the ABS will work with key departments across government to identify and leverage existing administrative datasets.

The combination of survey and administrative data aims to provide information on barriers for women, unpaid carers, people with a disability, older people, First Nations people, culturally and linguistically diverse people and those living in remote areas

This further survey collection and release is estimated to cost up to an additional $4 million over the forward estimates.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said with record low unemployment it was crucial the barriers to employment were dismantled so everyone who wanted to work could obtain meaningful employment.

“We know there are many disadvantaged Australians who want to work but because of perceived bias or barriers, can’t get into the workforce,” Minister Rishworth said.

“This extra data collection and release will give us a clearer picture of what is happening and help formulate solutions to help those who need it most.”

Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh said while data had been collected over time, releasing more frequent data sets would help generate the best policy outcomes.

“Data is currently released every two years but will now be published every quarter alongside an annual release. This will include updated information in November,” Dr Leigh said.

“This is vital information to help employers tap into the full diversity of talent in Australia and support some of the most marginalised communities in the country to be part of the labour force.”

The Albanese Labor Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit has delivered a number of initiatives designed to build a bigger, better trained and more productive workforce, boost real wages and living standards, and create opportunities for more Australians.  

Today’s announcement is another example of what happens when industry, government, unions and stakeholders work together to address the challenges facing our nation.

The New Daily 5 September 2022

Imagine finding a dollar on the ground as you’re walking down the street.

It might feel like a bit of luck, a little sign that today is a good day.

Imagine picking it up and handing it to a kid nearby, watching their face light up because of the kindness of a stranger. You’ve turned a bit of luck into a moment of joy.

You don’t need to wait for a chance occurrence to make someone’s day.

Monday is the International Day of Charity – a day that should urge us to think about how we can all give our loose change to make bigger changes.

THE HON ANDREW LEIGH MP

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY

THE HON SENATOR CAROL BROWN

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT

BRIAN MITCHELL MP

MEMBER FOR LYONS

SENATOR CATRYNA BILYK

SENATOR FOR TASMANIA

SOUTHERN TASMANIAN JOBS AND SKILLS ROUNDTABLE HIGHLIGHTS SKILLS SHORTAGE IN TASMANIA AHEAD OF NATIONAL SUMMIT

MEDIA RELEASE

MONDAY, 29 AUGUST 2022

The Southern Tasmanian Jobs and Skills Roundtable in Hobart today has brought together over sixty representatives from local businesses, the community sector, the skills and education sector, unions, employment services and civil society.

The contributions made at the Southern Tasmanian Roundtable will help inform discussions at the National Jobs and Skills Summit on 1 – 2 September in Canberra.

Local businesses and organisations highlighted the economic impacts of worker shortages around the state.

Consensus was reached that education outcomes must be linked to on the ground, job opportunities here in Tasmania.

We know that there is a skills shortage in Tasmania; we know that people move to Tasmania to study, only to move back to the mainland in hopes of a better paying job with more opportunities to progress.

This is the second of three roundtables across Tasmania, one in Devonport, Hobart and Launceston. Each of the roundtables will feed into the National Jobs and Skills Summit this week.

The discussions and outcomes of the Summit will inform the Employment White Paper, which will help shape the future of Australia’s labour market. The White Paper will be led by Treasury, which will invite submissions and engage the wider community over the next 12 months.

Quotes attributed to the Hon Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury

“In Australia today, we're dealing with the effects of an economy that has been too stagnant, in which productivity growth has languished after nine years of neglect from the Coalition.

The Australian economy is facing real challenges, so the Labor government is getting to work building innovation, ensuring that we've got a more skilled Australian economy, making sure we've got cheaper energy prices, and ensuring that we have infrastructure which is focused on the needs of Australians.”

Quotes attributed to the Hon Senator Carol Brown, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport 

“Hearing from the roundtable participants today will directly inform the discussions held at the Summit in Canberra in a couple of days time, and I am looking forward to canvassing the discussions held today here to my colleagues and industry leaders in Canberra very soon,” the Assistant Minister said.

Quotes attributed to Brian Mitchell, Member for Lyons

“I have the privilege of representing a diverse electorate - from students through to farmers; all working to make our state better and provide our award winning produce to the world.

The Albanese Labor Government is listening to the experts - employers and working people. We know that together we will shape the future of Australia’s labour market.”

Quotes attributed to Senator Catryna Bilyk

“The Albanese Government has a clear agenda to create secure local jobs, bring manufacturing back to our shores and ensure we have enough jobs for the critically important care economy.” 

A PRODUCTIVITY TURNAROUND REQUIRES A MORE DYNAMIC, COMPETITIVE ECONOMY

The Australian,  26 August 2022

Productivity growth is the key driver of living standards over the long run. Yet over recent decades, productivity growth has slowed from a canter to a saunter. Slower productivity growth means lower real wages and less buying power for households. It constrains the ability of the budget to build infrastructure and help poor people here and overseas. Whether your priority is paying down debt or boosting teacher quality, Australians should be worried about the drop in productivity.

In a recent analysis, I worked with experts at the Australian Treasury to analyse data on productivity and economic dynamism. With access to data on millions of businesses and workers, Treasury now has an unprecedented ability to study the health of the economy. Although these datasets have been constructed relatively recently, some go back nearly to the start of the century – allowing powerful insights into how the Australian economy has changed over time.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

CANBERRA DRIVE

MONDAY, 15 AUGUST 2022

Subjects: falling volunteer numbers; Labor’s plans to rebuild the charity sector

ANNA VIDOT: Some new data indicates that Australians are volunteering less than they were two years ago. The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission estimates that the number of volunteers in Australia has dropped from 3.3 million to 2.9 million over the course of the pandemic. Now this is not necessarily surprising, I guess. But is it all about COVID? Given that we know volunteering numbers were kind of on this slide beforehand too. Is there more at play here about how connected we are and how connected we feel with the communities that we're living in? And I guess most importantly for the organisations missing out on volunteers, can we change that? Dr Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. He’s also the local Member for Fenner here in the ACT. Andrew Leigh, thanks very much for your time this afternoon.

ANDREW LEIGH: Pleasure, Anna. Great to be with you.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

NEWSDAY, SKY NEWS

MONDAY, 15 AUGUST 2022

Subjects: Labor’s plans to rebuild the charity sector; Labor’s plans to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax

TOM CONNELL: We're volunteering less than we used to. So why is that the case? Joining me now is Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. Thanks very much for your time. You're delving into this problem. Why do you think we're not out there volunteering, putting as many hours as we used to into the community?

ANDREW LEIGH: It's part of an overall decline that we've seen, Tom. Australians are not only less likely to volunteer, but less likely to join community organisations, to play team sports. We've got fewer friends than we did in the 1980s, and we know fewer of our neighbours. We've become disconnected. I don't think this is the fault of either side of politics, but certainly the former government's war on charities didn't help. That prompted three open letters from the sector, calling on successive Liberal Prime Ministers to back off their attacks on charities. Labor’s ended the war on charities, but I'm now reaching out to charities through these building community forums - which kicked off in Sydney today - asking for their ideas about how we can work together collaboratively. Philanthropic funders, charities and government, to build more reconnected Australia.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

6PR MORNINGS

MONDAY, 8 AUGUST 2022

Subjects: Labor’s plans to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax; ATO settlement with Rio Tinto and the use of marketing hubs; JobKeeper

LIAM BARTLETT, HOST: I wanted to talk about the world of commerce ‑ the wild, wonderful, wacky world of tax, in particular, with a revelation in the Financial Review this morning that oil and gas giant Shell has confirmed that it is selling Queensland gas to global customers via a Singapore marketing hub, which of course raises questions all over again about what they call transfer pricing to lower domestic tax payments. In other words, the price you end up selling it to is not necessarily reflected in the amount of tax you end up paying to the country that you draw that product from. It's drawn attention all over again to how the big industry players sell gas offshore. And it also comes hot on the heels, you may recall last month the decision by Rio Tinto ‑ another industry giant ‑ to pay almost a billion dollars to settle the dispute to the Australian Taxation Office over the mining company's use of a marketing hub in Singapore. These marketing hub pricing mechanisms have been around for a while. Now all this leads me sort of back to Rome, so to speak, because you might recall during the election campaign a lot was made of this from the then Labor opposition about forcing the multinationals to pay more tax. And we spoke then to the Honourable Dr Andrew Leigh, who has become now that Labor is in government the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, and he joins us on the program. Andrew, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY: Good morning, Liam. Great to be back with you.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

RN BREAKFAST

MONDAY, 8 AUGUST 2022

Subjects: Labor’s plans to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax; ATO settlement with Rio Tinto and the use of marketing hubs; international agreements on multinational tax avoidance; windfall tax; competition

PATRICIA KARVELAS, HOST: By now, most Australians would be feeling the effects of record inflation and rising interest rates, even if you don't have a mortgage. But high commodity prices, which is one of the drivers of that inflation, are also delivering a $27 billion boost to the budget bottom line. And that's, of course, welcome news for the Treasurer as he prepares to hand down his first budget in October. We get two budgets this year with a change of government. And with budget repair a priority, the government has multinationals like Google and Facebook in its sights, canvassing a range of measures to force them to pay more tax. Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, and our guest this morning. Welcome back to Breakfast, Andrew Leigh.

ANDREW LEIGH, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY: Thanks, Patricia. Great to be with you.