Andrew Leigh

Supporting Australian Families
Matter of Public Importance
House of Representatives, Wednesday 2 August 2023

As a father of three boys, I found yesterday's television stories utterly gut-wrenching. To see these accounts of a number of allegations is just extraordinary. I'd encourage anyone who is distressed by the news to seek support. The government thanks the hardworking officers of the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and the Queensland and New South Wales police for their dedication to the case. They didn't give up until they identified all of the alleged victims.

It's important to remember that the matter is currently before the courts. We in this parliament have the liberty to speak about any matters we wish, but it has not been unknown for past court cases to be derailed, so I'd urge all those speaking on this matter of public importance debate to be careful. The Leader of the Opposition, as a former police officer, knows better than anyone to be careful in all of our words in what we say to ensure we do not jeopardise the work of the police.

The Albanese government has been working with all Australian jurisdictions on the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse, underpinned by an initial investment of some $300 million over four years. The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received additional funding in our budget. The Minister for Education has asked the independent Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority to undertake a review of child safety arrangements, recognising these heinous events. The government will receive the authority's interim reports in October.

Grants are open for the 2023 round of Volunteer Grants. These grants will provide $1,000 to $5,000 to eligible volunteer-led community groups to help with the cost of supporting volunteers and the vital work they do in our community.

To apply, please complete an Expression of Interest to us via this form, you can find a full breakdown of which groups and what activities are eligible for this program in this document 

If you’re eligible and have a project that could use this funding, please email my office  before 5pm on the 30th of August 2023.

Please call the office on (02) 6247 4396 with any questions.

More than one billion reasons to vote Yes for a Voice

The Daily Telegraph, 31 July 2023

Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome are pretty old civilisations, but they don’t have a patch on Australia’s First Peoples. By the time those civilisations were getting started, Indigenous people had been on this continent for tens of thousands of years.

Indigenous people refer to “everywhen” to describe the connections between past, present and future. And indeed, it’s hard to get your head around the concept of a people who have been here for more than 60 millennia.

What does 60,000 years mean? If every generation lasts 30 years, this means that two thousand generations of Indigenous people have dwelt on this continent.

CHARITIES COMMISSION ADVISORY BOARD APPOINTED

The Government is pleased to announce eight appointments to the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits (ACNC) Advisory Board.

The ACNC Advisory Board supports and advises the ACNC Commissioner.

Late last year, the Government sought applications from members of the charity sector to join the ACNC Advisory Board.

Boosting Transparency and Accountability in the Charity Sector
Annual Conference of the Charity Law Association of Australia, Melbourne
Thursday, 27 July 2023

[Acknowledgements omitted]

In the 2023-24 Budget, we announced funding to enable increased disclosure of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission’s regulatory activities to enhance transparency and accountability in the charity sector.

Today I will speak about the motivations behind this measure and look to provide additional details on the underlying reforms.

The ACNC takes potential misconduct in the charity sector very seriously, and investigates where necessary. In 2021–22 the ACNC finalised 96 investigations, which resulted in a range of outcomes, including the revocation of 15 charities’ registration for serious and ongoing non-compliance.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH TOM CONNELL
WEDNESDAY, 26 JULY 2023

SUBJECTS: Inflation figures, Energy bill relief, Transition to renewables, Increasing housing supply.

TOM CONNELL (HOST): Joining me now for more on this is Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for the Treasury. Thank you very much for your time here in the studio, of course.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT, COMPETITION, CHARITIES, AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Pleasure, Tom.

CONNELL: Inflation, 0.8 per cent for the quarter is a big figure here, it's barely above the target band, if it's annualised. Is the case for another rate hike greatly diminished after that figure?

LEIGH: Well, that'll be entirely up to the Reserve Bank and its board, Tom, but it’s certainly welcome news for households. Remember the peak of inflation was in the Coalition's last quarter in office. We had that quarterly figure of 2.1 per cent inflation. This figure of 0.8 per cent is less than half of that figure. So, warmly welcomed. Still annualised over the year, we're at 6 per cent, a little down from the 7.8 per cent we were at, but yet to come within the target band. As a government, we're focused on what we can do. Cheaper energy, cheaper childcare, ensuring we're providing that rental relief to households and cheaper medicines. Not only the reforms from January but also the reforms that will come into effect in September that will allow people to get two months supply in one go.

Randomised Trials, Employment Services and Work For All
Connect Up 2023, Surfers Paradise
Tuesday, 25 July 2023

Introduction

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the Yugambeh region, and all First Nations people present here today. I commit myself, as a member of the Albanese Government, to the implementation in full of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament. Thanks to CoAct CEO Simon Brown and chair Lynn Smart for the invitation to speak at ConnectUp 2023.

In 1944 and 1945, as war raged in the Pacific, HC (Nugget) Coombs and a team of fellow economists in the Ministry of Post-War Reconstruction drafted a White Paper on Full Employment. Commissioned by Prime Minister John Curtin, the result was punchy and bold. It began with an excoriating denunciation of the way that the economy in the interwar years had served Australians:

‘Despite the need for more houses, food, equipment and every other type of product, before the war not all those available for work were able to find employment or to feel a sense of security in their future. On the average during the 20 years between 1919 and 1939 more than one-tenth of the men and women desiring work were unemployed.’

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO NATIONAL BREAKFAST WITH HAMISH MACDONALD
TUESDAY, 25 JULY 2023

SUBJECTS: Cost of living, Appointment of Chris Barrett to the Productivity Commission, Randomised trials and employment services system, Review into offshore processing.

HAMISH MACDONALD (HOST): The economic storm facing Australia might be gathering pace, but right now, the budget bottom line is looking better than ever. Yesterday, the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, revealed the surplus has gone down since the May budget - sorry, gone up to $20 billion. But despite housing being a major problem in the community and government support payments below that of the poverty line, it's unlikely that any of that money will be used to ease the cost of living pressures. Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury and Employment and joins the program now. Good morning to you.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT, COMPETITION, CHARITIES, AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning, Hamish.

The Australian Government is providing up to 30,000 unconnected families with school aged children across all states and territories with a free National Broadband Network (NBN) connection for 12 months.

The initiative will provide 50 megabits per second (Mbps) fixed-line services, Fixed-Wireless Plus and Sky Muster Plus services, depending on where the family lives, with large or unlimited data quotas. The School Student Broadband Initiative will narrow the digital divide and boost education opportunities for students without crucial access to home internet.

ANZLF Closing Plenary: Collaboration For Economic Resilience
Wednesday, 19 July

Introduction

Kia ora and hello.

Australia and New Zealand enjoy a straight-talking – sometimes playful – but always respectful relationship.

Its benefits reach beyond our borders to support stability, prosperity and security across our region.

In recent years, I have appreciated the chance to visit New Zealand as a guest of Presbyterian Support Northern, and to discuss shared economic and social challenges with Finance Minister Grant Robertson and New Zealand High Commissioner Annette King.

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum is an important part of our ongoing dialogue, and I thank you for the invitation to speak today.