Andrew Leigh

E&OE Transcript
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC SYDNEY BREAKFAST WITH CHRIS TAYLOR
THURSDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Release of coins with King Charles III’s effigy

CHRIS TAYLOR: Now, if you're into your coins, you might be interested to learn that the first batch of coins featuring the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III, have now officially been manufactured by the Royal Australian Mint and released into circulation. I haven't seen one yet. I think I've still got the Queen. Well, who's using cash is the first point, but to the extent I do still occasionally have some loose change in my pocket, I think it's still pretty Queeny. But apparently we now need to keep a lookout because the first coins, with His Majesty's face in circulation, they're $1 coins. There's going to be three and a half million of them starting to appear in cash registers across the country. Dr. Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Treasury who's been overseeing the rollout. Good morning, Andrew.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning, Chris. I've got to say, my wallet is still pretty Queenly as well, but I'm sure that will change over the coming years.

E&OE Transcript
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC CANBERRA BREAKFAST WITH JAMES VYVER
THURSDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Release of coins with King Charles III’s effigy; Announcement of funding for Stage 2A of Canberra’s light rail.

JAMES VYVER: Andrew Leigh is with us now, Assistant Minister for Treasury. As I say, the first coin featuring King Charles III have been released into circulation and Andrew Leigh is with us now. Minister, good morning to you. How many coins have gone out or where have they gone to?

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: So, first I have to say, James, I love your musical choices to accompany it. Inspired indeed. We've sent out three and a half million of these new kingly coins. They'll be rolling into circulation alongside the 16 billion coins with the Queen on them, which have appeared since the beginning of decimal currency in 1966. It is a big moment for many Australians. It'll be the first time that most of us have held in our hands an Australian coin with a king's face on it. Then, as you said, just as Queen Elizabeth faced to the right, King Charles will face to the left. A tradition that goes back to the 17th century. Some say to the moment when King Charles II decided that he would face away from Oliver Cromwell. But I haven't been able to confirm that.

MEDIA RELEASE

AVOIDING CHARITY SCAMS THIS SUMMER

The Albanese Government encourages Australians to be generous in supporting charities, while remaining vigilant against fraudulent charity scams. Historically, fake charity scams tend to peak during the months of December and January and there are a range of precautions Australians can take to avoid being scammed.

MEDIA RELEASE

KING CHARLES III NOW ON AUSTRALIAN COINS

The first coins featuring the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III have now been manufactured by the Royal Australian Mint and released into circulation.

The first coins bearing the King’s effigy are the $1 circulating coin. The first batch of 3.5 million coins have been delivered to the banks and will now start appearing in cash registers across the country.

The remaining denominations of circulating coins will be released progressively in 2024, based on bank demand.

A variety of collector and investment coins bearing the King’s effigy are expected to be available for sale early next year.

E&OE Transcript
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC CANBERRA DRIVE WITH ROSS SOLLY
TUESDAY, 5 DECEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Reserve Bank decisions; Cost of living support; Preventive detention

ROSS SOLLY: So, as you’ve been hearing in the news, the Reserve Bank today – no surprises – but they’ve decided to keep the interest rates on hold. I’m sure that’s going to be coming as a big relief for a lot of homeowners around the country and here in the national capital and surrounding districts.

Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh I’m sure is also quite relieved. He is just back from competing in a triathlon, in fact, in Western Australia – as you do. Minister, thanks for coming on the show.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES, COMPETITION, EMPLOYMENT AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: A real pleasure, Ross. We don’t have Ironman triathlons in the national capital, which is why you’ve got to travel to get to them. But a wonderful event.

E&OE Transcript
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC CANBERRA AFTERNOONS WITH LEON DELANEY
FRIDAY, 1 DECEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Productivity Commission interim report into philanthropy; Reform of tax deductions system for charity donations; House of Representatives Committee Report on Employment Services; Advanced manufacturing policy; Cost-of-living relief in MYEFO.

LEON DELANEY: Well, there's a lot going on in the Federal Parliament at the moment. I think there's only one more sitting week left to go. Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Assistant Minister for Employment, and local member for Fenner, Dr Andrew Leigh, good afternoon.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES, COMPETITION, TREASURY AND EMPLOYMENT ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon, Leon. Great to be with you and your listeners.

DELANEY: I've got that right, haven't I? There's one more week to go.

LEIGH: There's a week for the Senate and a day for the House, an extra day to deal with any legislation that gets amended in the upper House.

E&OE Transcript
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO MELBOURNE DRIVE WITH ALI MOORE
MONDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Reform of the RBA; Appointment of a new Deputy Governor of the RBA; Dismissal of Mike Pezzullo.

ALI MOORE: You'll know that review into the Bank's operations that happened earlier this year and it's led to legislation that's now being introduced to Federal Parliament. The legislation is going to create a new board that's going to have the sole job of setting interest rates and the reforms are also going to remove a little known mechanism that allows the government to overrule the Reserve Bank. Also, the Government has announced today the new Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, a central banker who is going to come from the UK. Andrew Leigh is Assistant Minister for competition, Charities and Treasury. Andrew Leigh welcome to Drive.

ASSISTANT MINSTER FOR CHARITIES, COMPETITION, TREASURY AND EMPLOYMENT ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks, Ali. Great to be with you and your listeners.

AUSTRALIANS URGED TO GIVE GENEROUSLY

Tuesday 28 November is ‘Giving Tuesday’. Created eleven years ago, Giving Tuesday follows the shopping day ‘Black Friday’. Where Black Friday encourages spending, Giving Tuesday encourages generosity.

Right now, many charities are feeling squeezed. In some cases, donors and volunteer support has fallen, while demand for help has risen. The end of the year is a time when some charities, including food relief and crisis support organisations, are at their busiest.

CHARITY IS AT THE HEART OF AUSTRALIA

Across the world, democracy is under pressure. According to one set of experts, the world entered a ‘democratic recession' in 2016 and is yet to recover. Russia, Peru, Turkey and Myanmar are among the nations whose democracy scores have slumped.

While democracy is down, populism is up. According to a recent study, populism is at an all-time high, with more than 25 per cent of nations now governed by populists. Populists tend to erode democratic institutions and undermine economic growth. Fifteen years after populists take power, income per person is 10 per cent lower than it would otherwise have been.

Worst yet, populists make catastrophic risks more likely. Confronting dangers such as nuclear war, bioterrorism, climate change and rogue AI requires mobilising our intellectual powers, strengthening institutions, cooperating internationally and remaining calm. Yet by definition, populists are anti-intellectual, anti-institutional anti-international and anti-calm.

E&OE Transcript
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC THE MONEY WITH RICHARD AEDY
THURSDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Merger reform.

RICHARD AEDY: Let's start with competition. For consumers, here isn't enough of it. In 17 industries, we have more market concentration than America does. And in a few it's very, very obvious. Four big banks, two big supermarkets, two big airlines. Part of the reason for this is mergers and the way that they've been regulated. The Government wants to change that and has just put out a consultation paper. The Minister for Competition is Andrew Leigh. Minister, thanks for joining us. What is wrong with our merger control regime at the moment?

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES, COMPETITION, TREASURY AND EMPLOYMENT ANDREW LEIGH: Richard, we've seen a big increase in market concentration and a big increase in markups. We've had the lousiest decade of productivity growth in the postwar era, and many people think that that might be because our markets aren't dynamic enough. Pretty much wherever you turn, from banking to baby food to beer, Australian consumers only have a couple of choices. And in that environment where large firms are ruling the roost, I think it's important for us to take a careful look at our merger laws.