Andrew Leigh

There are worrying signs from the Abbott Government that it will use the Productivity Commission's industrial relations inquiry to undermine penalty rates for casual workers. In this piece for the Hobart Mercury, Brendan O'Connor and I explain why protecting penalty rates protects more than just the wages of low-paid workers.

Penalty rates based on family values, Hobart Mercury, 23 February

When was the last time you planned your child’s birthday party for a Monday morning? Went to a christening on Tuesday? Invited friends to your house for a BBQ lunch on a Wednesday?

If the answer is ‘hardly ever’, then you’re a beneficiary of one of the greatest social inventions of humankind: the weekend.

In economic jargon, weekends help solve a coordination problem. If you’re planning to invite fifty guests to your wedding, it helps if there’s a common time that they’re unlikely to be working. 

A truly national scheme for charities regulation has come one step closer, as I joined Deputy NSW Opposition Leader Linda Burney and Shadow Minister for Fair Trading Tania Mihailuk to announce that a Foley Labor Government would sign New South Wales up to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Here's the transcript:

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP INTERVIEW

NSW PARLIAMENT, SYDNEY

WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2015

SUBJECT/S: NSW Labor signing up to Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission

LINDA BURNEY, NSW DEPUTY OPPOSITION LEADER: Thank you for coming. I'm joined today by Andrew Leigh, the federal Shadow Assistant Treasurer, and Tania Mihailuk, the Shadow Minister for Fair Trading here in New South Wales. Today we're announcing that a Foley-led Labor Government would sign up to the national charities commission. This commission was put in place by Labor in 2012 and its role is to make things simpler for charities across Australia. A Labor government, led by Luke Foley in New South Wales, commits itself to being part of the charities commission, and to allow charities in New South Wales to have less paperwork. This means they can concentrate more on what they should be doing, and that's being out there working in the community. I'll ask Andrew Leigh to make some more comments now.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Thanks very much Linda, and it's a real pleasure to join Linda Burney and Tania Mihailuk for this important announcement. The charities commission isn't a partisan idea; it's an institution which protects donors, taxpayers and charities. The announcement that a Foley Labor Government will sign up to the charities commission is great news for the 18,000 charities in New South Wales. It means they can spend less time doing paperwork, and more time helping the vulnerable and building social capital in our community. I'd now call on the federal Minister for Social Services, Scott Morrison, to bring the charities commission out of the Twilight Zone. He appears to have a policy of scrapping the charities commission, but then on the other hand says that scrapping it isn't near the top of his agenda. So he ought to come on board. He ought to sign up to support the charities commission, to stand on the side of charities and against scammers, who are the only ones who have anything to fear from the charities commission. Tania, did you want to say a few words as well?

TANIA MIHAILUK, NSW SHADOW MINISTER FOR FAIR TRADING: We're delighted to be joined here by Andrew Leigh today, and to make it very clear that a Foley-led Labor Government will support charities only having to deal with one organisation through the national regulatory scheme. It is difficult for charities when they get caught up jumping through bureaucratic hoops, filling out double the paperwork when they shouldn't have to. We want charities focused on what they do best, and that is supporting people that need their help.

In great news for New South Wales charities, I joined Deputy Opposition Leader Linda Burney and Shadow Consumer Affairs Minister Tania Mihailuk to announce that a Foley Labor Government will harmonise the state's rules to match up with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. This will make life much easier for NSW not-for-profits because they'll only have to register and report to one government agency.

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

NSW LABOR SIGNS UP TO NATIONAL CHARITIES SCHEME

A Foley Labor Government will cut red tape for New South Wales charities by allowing them to register and report just once through the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission.

Deputy NSW Opposition Leader Linda Burney and Shadow Minister for Fair Trading Tania Mihailuk joined the federal Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh at NSW State Parliament today to announce the new approach for local not-for-profits.  

There are over 18,000 charities operating across the state, and they must currently register with NSW Government authorities if they wish to collect donations and receive state tax concessions. But to qualify as a tax deductible gift recipient, they must also register with the national charities regulator.

With the Abbott Government scoping out selling the Treasury and John Gorton buildings, I took to the op-ed page of the Canberra Times to explain why that's a bad idea on several scores. 

When governments sell out, Canberra Times, 17 February 2015

Sometimes a policy announcement provides a little window into the heart of a government. Last Friday's announcement that the Abbott Government is thinking about selling off the Treasury and Finance Buildings is revealing – and not in a good way.

Let's start with the basics. A well-run government needs a strong public service. In most countries, the central agencies are located close to the parliament, to ensure that the legislature stays in touch with the executive. In Australia, departments such as Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister’s, Treasury and Finance are located within walking distance of Parliament House. Pay a visit to Ottawa, London, Paris or Washington and you’ll see a similar arrangement.

As the countdown to the Abbott Government's second budget shortens, I joined Chris Hammer on Breaking Politics to talk about Labor's alternative approach to their cuts and unfairness. Here's the transcript:

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

ONLINE INTERVIEW

FAIRFAX BREAKING POLITICS

MONDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2015

SUBJECT/S: National security; Budget savings

CHRIS HAMMER: Andrew Leigh is the Labor MP for Fraser here in Canberra, he's also the Shadow Assistant Treasurer. Andrew Leigh, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning, Chris, how are you?

HAMMER: I’m well. Where are you?

LEIGH: I'm just in Braddon in the Northside of Canberra, a part of Canberra that's really turning into hipsterville. The rapid transformation of this area is fabulous, lots of new apartments, great cafes – anyone visiting Canberra should come by and have a coffee here.

HAMMER: Ok, now the issue of the day is national security and terrorism. The Prime Minister has issued a statement saying that bad people are playing Australians for "mugs", there's been too much benefit of the doubt about borders, for residency, for citizenship and Centrelink. What do you make of these comments and, if you like, moving the emphasis to national security?

LEIGH: Labor doesn't play politics with national security, these are bipartisan issues. For example, in…

HAMMER: Let me interrupt you there, you say Labor doesn't play politics with national security. Do you suspect that the Prime Minister is?

LEIGH: No, I'm just making it absolutely clear that this is a bipartisan issue. Last year on the question of the character test for the immigration system, Labor supported the Government's changes. Certainly, there are serious threats. The national security alert level is now at High. The horrific events that we've seen in Copenhagen, the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the events in Martin Place do highlight the very real concerns that exist in this area. So any proposals the Government puts forward, we will look at seriously and in good faith.

There's a great deal of uncertainty in the global economy right now. On ABC NewsRadio, I joined Marius Benson to talk about why it's important that Australia's government addresses this uncertainty, rather than adding to it. Here's the transcript:

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC NEWSRADIO

THURSDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2015

SUBJECT/S: Economic summit proposal; Global economic outlook

MARIUS BENSON: Andrew Leigh, there's been a call for a summit on Australia's economic future. That call has been backed, in part, by Tony Abbott but it came from Clive Palmer and also Rupert Murdoch. Echoes of Bob Hawke there – are you in favour of a summit?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Marius, Labor is always happy to talk economics. But you've got to worry when you hear calls for bipartisanship, because let's face it: expecting bipartisanship from Tony Abbott is like expecting humility from Malcolm Turnbull. He turned down the opportunity to be involved in the multi-party committee on climate change when Labor was in government, and he turned down the opportunity to be part of the tax forum. If this is a conversation about how we deal with the challenges of the future, including things like climate change and inequality, then we're happy to be part of that conversation. But if it's just a fig leaf to cover cuts to the most vulnerable, then Labor isn't going to support measures which harm the Australian social contract.

International tax has been in the news again with allegations a major bank has been helping wealthy individuals dodge their tax obligations. I joined Stuart Bocking to talk about what we can do to prevent this; here's the transcript:

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

RADIO INTERVIEW

2UE SYDNEY

TUESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2015

SUBJECT/S: HSBC banking leaks; multinational profit shifting; Tony Abbott’s cuts to pensions; 2015 budget

STUART BOCKING: There's been interesting reports today about HSBC's international banking arm, which detail a whole heap of secret accounts which have been operated by all sorts of people including A-listers like Christian Slater, Joan Collins, Phil Collins, and the motorcycle ace Valentino Rossi. A number of high-profile Australians have been caught up in this as well, including Elle McPherson and also the late Kerry Packer. Now, there's no suggestion that any of them have broken the law, but the Australian tax Office is now probing the Swiss bank accounts of 261 Australians as new details emerge of what is the biggest leak in banking history. Dr Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and he's on the line. Dr Leigh, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning Stuart, how are you?

BOCKING: I'm well. It isn't illegal to have an offshore bank account, is it?

LEIGH: No, that's right. It's just illegal not to notify the Australian tax office. 

BOCKING: So this is quite extraordinary because they're saying there's potentially an additional $30 million which is owed to the nation's coffers. 

LEIGH: That's right. Certainly this new Common Reporting Standard which developed countries around the world have agreed to implement is going to make it much harder for firms and individuals to hide information, as seems to have happened in this case. But what has concerned me is that the Abbott Government is implementing that Common Reporting Standard a year later than most other advanced countries, meaning there's an extra year that people are able to exploit loopholes like this.

The new Minister for Social Services has signaled a welcome change of tack on the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission. But instead of putting off plans to scrap the commission indefinitely, it would be better to just walk away from the idea altogether.

MEDIA RELEASE

SHIFT ON ACNC WELCOME BUT CHARITIES NEED CERTAINTY

Labor welcomes Scott Morrison’s announcement that he will not make scrapping the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission a priority in his new Social Services portfolio. But if he is really listening to the charities sector, he should walk away from his predecessor’s plan to abolish it altogether.    

The Abbott Government had previously committed to axing the commission, which was set up by Labor in 2012 to protect Australians from scammers and streamline charity regulation.

Under former Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews, Australia’s charities endured months of uncertainty as the minister pushed through a Senate inquiry and endless consultations on what should replace the commission. 

The Senate's inquiry into corporate tax avoidance in Australia is underway, with public submissions closing this week. Reading through the responses, it's really clear that we need better tax transparency right now.

MEDIA RELEASE

TAX INQUIRY SUBMISSIONS BACK NEED FOR MORE TRANSPARENCY

The Senate’s inquiry into corporate tax avoidance has underlined the need for greater tax transparency in Australia, with one in three submissions backing the public release of more information on how much tax companies really pay.

On top of the submissions directly supporting better transparency, a further one in three have raised concerns about incorrect and confusing information on corporate tax payments circulating in the public domain.

The inquiry was established by Labor in the wake of growing global concern about multinational profit shifting in recent years.

The first Breaking Politics show of the year was a big one, as Andrew Laming and I thrashed out the lessons parties should be taking from the weekend's remarkable result in Queensland. Here's the transcript:

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

ONLINE INTERVIEW

FAIRFAX BREAKING POLITICS

MONDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2015

SUBJECT/S: Abbott Government leadership ructions; Queensland election; Labor’s positive plan for 2015

CHRIS HAMMER: We're joined now in the studio by Andrew Leigh, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Member for Fraser here in the ACT, and Andrew Laming, a Queensland federal Liberal MP from the seat of Bowman. Good morning to you both. Andrew Laming, to you first: the Queensland election result, how much do you think that was affected by federal issues and federal politics?

ANDREW LAMING, MEMBER FOR BOWMAN: Well Chris, you'll be surprised to hear me say: very little. The reason was Campbell Newman was such a towering figure, and overwhelmingly this result was all about whether you liked him or not, his tone and his style. Obviously asset sales became a significant issue due to a really big union campaign. So while we may have national thoughts about the relative leaders, Tony Abbott didn't play a big role in Queensland. Certainly he didn't come up during the campaign, and secondly people were firmly focused on Campbell Newman's three years in government.

CHRIS HAMMER: Ok, so in that case the federal government doesn't have to change anything, does it? Because that was just all Queensland?

LAMING: Well there are still important portents from the Queensland election. First of all, we've seen that significant social policy changes or restructures aren't going to be bought easily by the electorate in the name of fixing Labor's debt. There's general agreement, I think, that we need to do that. But in Queensland for the first time we've actually got a Queensland Labor government having to wear the debt of the Labor predecessor just three years earlier. That's historically quite a new thing post-John Howard, to see Labor sorting out Labor debt. It'll be very interesting viewing. 

HAMMER: Given what's happened in Queensland and what happened in Victoria in November – two first-term governments kicked out of office – do you now fear that the federal government could be a one-term government? Is that a real fear?

LAMING: Look, it's not a direct correlation but clearly Australians are not going to hold onto governments simply because they've only had one term. I mean, two very different situations here: the Victorian state government was just plain terrible, whereas Campbell Newman was, if anything, just too ambitious. Australians, and Queenslanders certainly, like governments that are seen but not heard. They don't want governments making massive structural reforms unless they're absolutely convinced of them. Clearly, both at the state and federal level we haven't achieved that. That narrative hasn't been right. I've said this before: on Budget Night last year I had to go and check, as a medical specialist, to see if Medicare was truly unsustainable because no-one had been saying it prior to the budget. That wasn't the right language to get budget changes through. 

HAMMER: Ok, so what has the federal government got wrong and what does it need to get right?

LAMING: Well it firstly needs to be pointed out that we're having this discussion two years out from an election. That's when you want to have the discussion. Not, as Labor did, three months out. Secondly, we obviously have great economic credentials, voters know that and they'll always vote for a Coalition government when the economy is at stake. But ultimately, Coalition governments are voted out when they get their social policy in a muddle. They've got to get their social policy right to stay elected. They're not at the moment. The mistake we have made is to presume that Australians will brook massive social policy changes simply because of a Labor government's failures in a previous term. In Queensland that simply did not wash.