Andrew Leigh

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TELEVISION INTERVIEW

ABC NEWS TONIGHT

TUESDAY, 26 MARCH 2019

SUBJECTS: Scott Morrison’s lack of leadership on One Nation, gun reform.

ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: For more on this earlier I spoke to the Labor Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Andrew Leigh. Andrew Leigh, what's your reaction to the revelation that One Nation sought millions of dollars of funding from America’s NRA?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: I don't think the Howard Government has many achievements, but one of them is clearly the National Firearms Agreement. Research by Christine Neill and I estimated that that saved around 200 lives a year and so it ought to be an achievement that every Liberal holds proud. They also ought to be standing against the National Rifle Association, an organisation that has lied about the impact of the National Firearms Agreement in 2000, causing Howard's Attorney-General Daryl Williams to correct the record. And yet we have One Nation now in bed with the National Rifle Association and Scott Morrison being unwilling to put them last. I'm here in Gladstone where the local member wants to put One Nation second. Labor will always put One Nation last. It is the position John Howard took and it is the position Scott Morrison should take if he is any kind of a Liberal.

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RADIO INTERVIEW 
ABC BRISBANE DRIVE 
MONDAY, 25 MARCH 2019

SUBJECTS: Labor’s Tradie Pay Guarantee.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Steve, we look at this in two ways. First of all with our Tradie Pay Guarantee, which will set up cascading trusts for large Commonwealth projects. Basically means that if you do the work on time, you get paid on time. We'll start that with large Commonwealth projects and work with the states and territories to implement it with their government projects and then on major private sector construction contracts, because no one who does the work on time shouldn't get paid on time. 

The second part is our Tradie Litigation Fund, giving an additional $7 million to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in order to go after the worst dodgy phoenix directors. We know they're a scourge on the industry and we know that by cracking down on them we improve trust right across the building sector.

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DOORSTOP INTERVIEW 
GLADSTONE 
TUESDAY, 26 MARCH 2019

SUBJECTS: Labor’s plans to level the playing field for independent mechanics, Scott Morrison’s lack of leadership on One Nation, gun reform.

ZAC BEERS, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR FLYNN: It's great to be here today in Gladstone with Andrew Leigh, Labor's Shadow Assistant Treasurer,  talking to small businesses about what Labor's planning to do if elected the next federal election. We've made it clear here at JAX Tyres today hear in Gladstone that Labor's committed to making sure that we get the right reform when it comes to mechanics and servicing, to make sure that our small businesses right across the country have access to the right information, to make sure that they get a level playing field when it comes to servicing cars in this country. Not only that, we'll be talking about Labor's plans when it comes to what we're going to do to fix the issues n the banking royal commission and make sure that we get the right results for consumers in this country, to make certain that the findings of the Royal Commission make certain that Australian consumers get the right outcomes when it comes to accessing financial services. But I’ll hand to Andrew, who has probably got a bit more to say.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Terrific. Thanks Zac, and thanks to Eli and the team for showing us around JAX Tyres today. Labor believes it's your car, so it should be your choice about where to get it fixed. Our policy of data sharing for independent mechanics will ensure independent mechanics have the data they need to fix modern cars. We've heard stories from Eli and Chris today about cars that have to be sent to Bundy or Rocky because JAX Tyres here doesn't have access to the software that the authorised dealers have. That's a waste of time for car owners and it’s a pain for great small businesses like this one. Labor will ensure that independent mechanics have the data they need to fix modern cars. 

WELCOME EVENT - NATIONAL SCHOOLS CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

PARLIAMENT HOUSE, 19 MARCH 2019

I acknowledge we’re meeting in the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal people and pay my respects to elders past and present.

Who's visiting Canberra for the first time? Wonderful. Who's met Sean the prawn?

[laughter]

A few of you. Good to see. So for those hands that went up, you now know who to ask when you want an introduction to Sean the prawn, the most famous resident of the Marble Foyer - when Tony Smith isn't passing through.

[laughter]

You can take it for granted that you've got a Canberra based MP to welcome you to what I think it's the greatest city in Australia. You should not take it for granted that you just heard from the Speaker of the House. It's a very special thing to have Tony Smith here today. He doesn't only occupy the role of referee in the House of Representatives, he does it with a sense of purpose and grace, with an Australian egalitarianism and with a respect right across the Parliament has not been shared by all of his predecessors. Tony, on behalf of the other 149 members of the House, thank you for the important work you do for our great institution.

FUTURE OF MORTGAGE LENDING IN AUSTRALIA

CANBERRA, 19 MARCH 2019

Thanks very much, Mark, and can I acknowledge we're meeting on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal people and pay my respect their elders past and present. I thank Australian Finance Group, Connective and Mortgage Choice for putting on today's event.

I acknowledge my fellow panellists – Mark Hewitt, Mark Nocera and Mark Haron.

When it comes to the question session, please do feel free to call me Mark.

[laughter]

That will ensure that the panel gets full marks.

[laughter]

Did I mention that I’m a dad?

For those of you who are visiting Canberra, welcome. The OECD determined this to be the most liveable region in the advanced world, so I hope you'll take a chance to enjoy the beautiful bush capital.

I'm sorry that we're not joined by a representative of the Coalition today. However, I can assure you that after nine years in politics and hundreds of Question Times, I can probably answer questions on their behalf too.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

5AA MORNINGS

FRIDAY, 15 MARCH 2019

SUBJECT: Labor’s plans to give Australians hotels control over their businesses.

LEON BYNER: You've got in this country two large businesses - these are multinational companies - who control up to 85 per cent of online accommodation bookings in Australia. And do you know what they are able to do - I think the fact that they could even do it in the first place was outrageous - that they say to a hotel or motel, doesn't matter who it is, what size, ‘you will not in your advertising on your Facebook for your company, your business, yu will not undercut our prices’. Because the fact of the matter is. if you book through them you'll often get a better deal. Now you've got companies like Expedia and Booking.com that have got 85 per cent of this market. Now I've got Dick Smith on the line and Dick, before I get to you I want you to hear what a good policy is about to do. Okay, so you stay there and don't go away. I want to talk to the Shadow Assistant Treasurer Dr Andrew Leigh. Andrew, I'm very glad to have you on today because one of my passions has been that for too long corporations have been able to bully small businesses and because they've got such market power they can get away with it. Now in this space of hotel bookings, tell us what you're proposing if you win the election.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Leon, we're planning to go straight to the problem you've talked about - getting rid of those price parity clauses that prevent small local hotels offering the best deal on their own websites. These large multinational booking providers have a massive share of the market and they're taking a whopping slice of booking fees. So if you book a hotel, coming to see WOMADelaide or the Adelaide Fringe, you might pay a $100 for a room and see $30 of that go overseas. A 30 per cent booking fee is a massive hit to a small operator.

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DOORSTOP

MANLY, BRISBANE

TUESDAY, 12 MARCH 2019

SUBJECTS: Labor’s plans to give Australians hotels control over their businesses, Nationals chaos and LNP civil war over coal, Adani.

JO BRISKEY, LABOR’S CANDIDATE FOR BONNER: Jo Briskey here, Labor's candidate running at the federal election for the seat of Bonner, where I'm welcoming Andrew and Ed and also Richard from the Accommodation Association here at the Manly Marina Cove Motel down in Manly in the wonderful electorate of Bonner, talking about Labor's policy today around making it easier and fairer for customers and local businesses and importantly for families being able to get some really great local accommodation, good accommodation for those family holidays. So I'm absolutely thrilled to be here this morning, welcoming these lovely gentlemen to the wonderful Manly harbourside. Andrew, would you like to say a few words about today’s announcement?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER AND SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION: Thanks, Jo. It’s a real pleasure to be here with my friend and colleague Ed Husic and Jo Briskey, a terrific candidate for Bonner, and with Richard Munro, who has been campaigning hard on behalf of the accommodation industry for these vital changes. Labor wants to put power back in the hands of Australian tourists and Australian hotels. Right now, the duopoly of multinational booking providers going under various names - Expedia, Hotels.com, Kayak, Booking.com, Priceline, Wotif -  have been dominating the market for online bookings. They’re charging extremely high booking fees - they can range up to 30 per cent. They're able to maintain their market share through what's called price parity clauses, by requiring small hotels like this one to not offer a cheaper price to guests on their own website. The result of that has been that up to a third of the cost of accommodation is going offshore to these large multinational firms. In a time when we've got wage growth in the doldrums, we've got retail sales down, where we've got disappointing growth figures, we don't want to see more policies benefiting the top end of town over Aussie small businesses.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC CANBERRA BREAKFAST

TUESDAY, 12 MARCH 2019

SUBJECTS: Labor’s plans to support sustainable public transport in Canberra, federal ICAC, Labor’s plans to give Australians hotels control over their businesses.

DAN BOURCHIER: Although the date for the next election hasn't yet been set, it's largely seeming like it will be at some point in the later half of May. But we've seen lots of election promises on both sides of the aisle - everyone really make commitments right across the nation.  Today Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will announce a $200 million investment towards stage two of Canberra's light rail track to Woden, if Labor's elected the next federal election. Federal MP for Fenner is Andrew Leigh, he's with us on the phone. Good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning Dan. You're sounding as though you’re a bit croaky at the moment?

BOURCHIER: I'm a little, a little bit congested, but I’ll persevere onwards and upwards. 

LEIGH: I hope you’re on the mend soon.

BOURCHIER: Tell me, why is Labor making this commitment?

LEIGH: It's really important that we get going on light rail all the way through from Gungahlin to Woden. As you recall, Dan, when we were last in office Labor funded the Majura Parkway, an important piece of road infrastructure taking pressure off our roads. This is a vital commitment that a Shorten Government would make - $200 million towards to stage two. So that’s light rail from the city through to Woden. It'll create hundreds of jobs and it'll ensure that people are able to move swiftly through the city as modern light rail projects do. It's been championed by Alicia Payne, our candidate for Canberra, and I know she'll continue working on those issues with the route if she is elected.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC RN DRIVE

TUESDAY, 12 MARCH 2019

SUBJECTS: Labor’s push to give Australians a living wage, Josh Frydenberg’s backflip on the recommendations from the Banking Royal Commission, Labor’s plans to give Australians hotels control over their businesses.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Dr Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and he joins us. Welcome back to RN Drive.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Thank you, Patricia. Great to be with you.

KARVELAS: So the Federal Government has abolished the plan to dump trail commissions for mortgage brokers because of concerns around competition. They're going to get the ACCC to review it and they've got another review in three years. Why not review it given so much of the sector says that they worried about competition and that this will favour the big banks?

LEIGH: You just have to look at Kenneth Haynes’ report, which said on the issue of trail commissions ‘to put it bluntly they are money for nothing’. Now that’s a pretty damning indictment on their system. Trail commissions have been removed in other contexts and we believe it's appropriate to follow the Hayne Royal Commission’s advice on this.

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DOORSTOP

MELBOURNE

WEDNESDAY, 6 MARCH 2019

SUBJECT: The Morrison Government asking the Tax Office to enforce an unlegislated tax amnesty to benefit dodgy bosses.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Last year, the Liberals introduced a bill into Parliament that would give a 12 month amnesty to employers who hadn't paid their employees superannuation. Let's be clear what this means. If you're a boss who failed to pay your required superannuation obligations to your workers, you wouldn't face any penalties. Those penalties are significant. They can be up to 200 per cent of the amount unpaid, reflecting the fact that when an employee doesn't get superannuation then they miss out not only on the money but also on the earnings – the compounding returns.

Labor didn’t back that bill. We said we didn't believe that employers who had failed to live up to their obligations to their workers should get off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. We said that it wasn't appropriate to be letting dodgy bosses off scot free at the same time as the government came down like a ton of bricks on any welfare recipient who did the wrong thing. Yet the Liberals went ahead and asked the Tax Office to enforce the amnesty. It turns out from reports today that hundreds of applications rolled in and the Tax Office continued to process them. Now, recognising that the bill won't pass parliament - it's been languishing in the Senate since June last year - the Tax Office is going to use its discretion to waive penalties against these employers.