Andrew Leigh

 Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2023-2024
House of Representatives, 31 May 2023

No budget in the past decade has done more to reduce inequality than the 2023 budget. In that budget we brought down initiatives that make medicines cheaper for Australians with long-term health conditions. We funded a pay rise for aged-care workers. We are delivering nearly 500,000 fee-free TAFE places and 20,000 new university places directed primarily at those who are the first in their family to attend university. We have established 10 days family and domestic violence leave. And we have extended eligibility for the parenting payment single to a single principal carer with a youngest child aged under 14.

Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 2) Bill 2023
House of Representatives, 25 May 2023

This bill deals with Medicare, an issue which has been long debated in this parliament. Indeed, elections from 1969 to 1993 were fought in large measure over universal health care. The battle over Medibank was one of the most bitterly fought battles of the Whitlam government. The creation of Medibank was opposed by the coalition, and the 1974 double dissolution was triggered in part by the parliamentary gridlock over Medibank. 

Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Voice) Bill 2023
House of Representatives, Wednesday 24 May 2023

When this House sits at the beginning of each day we acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. The stories of the Ngunnawal are fundamental to this great city. I've been privileged to learn from Tyronne Bell how to speak an acknowledgement of country in Ngunnawal language, and I use it when I'm giving public speeches on Ngunnawal land. I've been privileged too, to walk with Tyronne Bell around the hills of Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie, learning from him about how to understand the local environment. He's shown my kids and my wife Gweneth and I the scar trees and the bush tucker. When I was out running around Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie this morning with my headlamp on, I was thinking about Tyronne and how he helped me better understand the local landscape.

Bob Maguire – Australia’s Larrikin Priest
Condolence Motion
House of Representatives, Wednesday 24 May 2023

Father Bob Maguire was one of Australia's best-known priests, but to call him a priest is a bit like calling Nick Cave a guitarist: it's technically true, but it doesn't really capture the breadth of the bloke. Bob Maguire was born in 1934 in Thornbury, Victoria and worked as a beekeeper and army officer before becoming a parish priest for Sts Peter and Paul's Catholic Church, in South Melbourne, from 1973 to 2012. In that role, Father Bob campaigned on social justice issues, particularly homelessness. He engaged with communities through radio shows on 3AW and Triple J and frequently clashed with the government and church authorities.

Volunteering Australia Reception – National Volunteer Week
Government House, Canberra
Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Thank you all for joining us. My name is Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, pay my respects to their elders, and commit myself, as a member of the Albanese Government, to the implementation in full of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Your Excellencies, thank you for having us here today and for your passion and hard work on behalf of Australian volunteers. To Mark Pearce and Michael Drew from Volunteering Australia, thank you for the important work you do. And to all the volunteers and volunteer peeps in the room. Thanks for keeping the country running.

Condolence Motion Allan Gyngell
House of Representatives, 11 May 2023

Allan Gyngell was one of Australia's greatest public servants. He was happy to be a member of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's famous class of 1969, alongside Sandy Holloway, Rick Smith and John Dauth.

I first met Allan 30 years after that, in 1999. I was the Labor Party's trade adviser, reaching out to experts on behalf of my boss, Senator Peter Cook. As a 27-year-old staffer I was just the conduit for the shadow trade minister, but Allan took an interest in me and helped mentor me in my career. I'm not sure I ever knew anyone so influential yet so modest.

Condolence Motion John Kerin
House of Representatives, 11 May 2023

The last public event that I did with John Kerin was to introduce him as the guest of honour at ACT Labor's dinner celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government at the Canberra Labor Club in December 2022.

John was physically frail but intellectually lively, and he told the stories of serving with Gough. And what better person to regale the dinner than a man whose first stint in federal parliament had coincided exactly with the Whitlam government? Elected in 1972 as member for Macarthur and unelected in 1975. At least his dismissal was by the voters. When John returned to parliament in 1978 it was as Gough Whitlam's successor as member for Werriwa. John won a three-way preselection contest and served the people of Werriwa until 1993.

Choosing Openness: How Regional Partnerships Boost Economic Dynamism
Yonsei University, Seoul
Tuesday, 2 May 2023

Introduction

Thank you to the Institute of East and West Studies at Yonsei University for inviting me to speak here today.

And to all attending students, thank you for coming along to listen.

I am honoured to be representing the Treasurer as Australia’s Governor to the Asian Development Bank for its 56th annual meeting of the Board of Governors.

It is a pleasure to be making my first visit to the Republic of Korea. Not just because my wife and I compulsively watched Squid Game. And not only because our three boys hope that their dad will return from South Korea fully ‘Gangnam Style’. They’re also hoping I’ll snap a selfie with NewJeans – whose performance at the Asian Development Bank reception will show the VIPs who the real VIPs are. OMG indeed.

In Australia, the cultural influence of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) is phenomenal.

In fact, South Korea’s cultural importance is on par with its economic importance to Australia.

Our bilateral relationship is underpinned by a shared vision for an open, prosperous and resilient Asia-Pacific region.

South Korea is Australia's fourth-largest two-way trading partner and third-largest export market (DFAT 2023).

Growing our economic, trade and investment ties with South Korea is a key priority for the Australian Government. 

We operate under a free trade agreement, which I will discuss later in more detail.

We also benefit from the Australia–Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is a program of enhanced bilateral cooperation under three pillars – strategic and security; economic, innovation and technology; and people-to-people exchange.

AMP Foundation 30^th Anniversary
Art Gallery of NSW
Thursday, 13 April 2023

Thank you for that generous introduction. I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, pay my respects to their elders and commit myself as a member of the Albanese government to the implementation in full of the Uluru Statement From the Heart.  

I also acknowledge Alexis George, the CEO of AMP, Nicola Stokes, the general manager of the AMP Foundation, Professor Peter Shergold the chair of the AMP Foundation, and all of you for being here tonight.

It’s a pleasure to be here in the Art Gallery of NSW’s new Sydney Modern Project building. Down below our feet is an artwork by Adrian Villa Rojas called "End of Imagination". It's a remarkable room, largely dark, lit only by search lights. And the central idea of the artwork is a series of monuments to the future, which have been aged on future worlds for thousands of years. If you haven't been down, I encourage you to check it out. It is an extraordinary art work. My three boys, aged 10, 13 and 16 all enjoyed different facets of it when we visited last. But it does remind us that all of us will be gone at some points. And what lives on beyond us is the big question. "End of Imagination" reminds us of the importance of legacy. And the work the AMP Foundation does is about legacy, is about the sort of nation we can hand on to the next generations.

Fair Play, Fair Competition and Economic Dynamism
COSBOA’S National Small Business Summit, Melbourne
Wednesday, 5 April 2023

Introduction

I acknowledge the people of the Kulin Nations, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today.

I pay my respects to their Elders, extend that respect to other First Nations people present today, and commit myself, as a member of the Albanese Government, to the implementation in full of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

I would also like to acknowledge COSBOA for inviting me to speak today.

I also recognise the work of today’s panellists: Bruce Billson, Stuart Clues, Will Day, Dominique Lamb and Mick Keogh.

Before we begin the panel discussion, ‘Thriving in a competitive economy’, we need to talk about printers.