Andrew Leigh

Brian Mitchell & Andrew Leigh, "Aussie Economy Starting to Look Like a Game Show", Hobart Mercury, 19 October 2016

Growing up, we were both fans of the television show Sale of the Century. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, millions of Australians tuned in to the quiz show, to see contestants try their hand at winning cars, holidays and cash. Guided by hosts like Tony Barber, Glenn Ridge, Delvene Delaney and Jo Bailey, some contestants won big. In 1992, Robert Kusmierski took home cash and prizes worth $676,790. But most who chanced their hand went home with next to nothing.

It made for a terrific gameshow, but today, as Labor parliamentarians, we’re worried that our society is starting to look too much like a gameshow. If you compare wages in 1980 (when the first episode of Sale of the Century went to air) with today, then you see a labour market where earnings have growth three times as fast for the top tenth as for the bottom tenth. It’s been a great generation for lawyers and landlords – not so much for retail workers and renters.

To some extent, success in life is determined by hard work, but luck matters too. Billionaire Warren Buffett likes to reflect on his good fortune at being born in an era when his investing skills can be put to work. For most of human history, those skills wouldn’t have been much use. We also know that the labour market pays more to men, tall people and right-handers. That’s luck, not skill.

During last night’s Estimates hearings the Australian Statistician admitted to Labor Senators how much extra money the Turnbull Government will spend rescuing the 2016 Australian Census – universally known as the ‘Worst Census Ever’ – from complete failure.

“(A)s a result of some of the remedial activities we took in terms of the Census we have to date probably incurred additional costs of around $20 million…and we anticipate possibly spending another $10 million.”

–     David W. Kalsich, Australian Statistician, Senate Economics Legislation Committee [10.05pm, 19/10/2016]

Immediately prior to the federal election, Treasurer Scott Morrison made an explicit promise to introduce a Diverted Profits Tax to tackle multinational tax avoidance by the end of this year:

 "Two pieces of legislation in particular that the government enacted will target this conduct of booking profits offshore - the Multinational Anti Avoidance Law (MAAL) and the Diverted Profits Tax (DPT). ...The DPT will be introduced in the second half of 2016 and will apply from 1 July 2017.”

–     Scott Morrison, 27 June.

 However, in response to questions from the Government’s own Senator Ian Macdonald in Senate Estimates today, Treasury officials noted that, “the legislation is yet to be drafted.” [Senate Economics Legislation Committee, 16.38.32]

With just over three sitting weeks to go until the end of the Parliamentary year, the Treasurer has dozens of tax measures that he has announced but not enacted. When it comes to taking on the big end of town, Scott Morrison is all mouth and no trousers.

WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2016

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How to make innovative co-ops work better, The Canberra Times, 19 October 2016

A few years ago, a group of community activists in one of the most disadvantaged parts of Canberra decided to set up a bulk-billing medical practice. They chose to make it a cooperative – recognising that its purpose wasn’t to make a buck for the shareholders, but instead to address a social need. 

Dr LEIGH (Fenner) (16:16):  When Isam Gurung first came to Amaroo Primary School he was in an unfamiliar environment. Isam is deaf, and had moved from a specialist school in Sydney to a mainstream school in Canberra. He found it difficult to adjust and was initially very shy. That was before he befriended Ross Kelly: a boy who decided, after passing notes forwards and backwards, that he would go a step further and learn sign language to help his friend. 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TV INTERVIEW

SKY AM AGENDA WITH KIERAN GILBERT

MONDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2016

SUBJECT/S: Unions and inequality; Royal Commission into the banking sector; ACT election.

KIERAN GILBERT: The Government is attacking Labor over the contributions of the CFMEU to the Labor Party upwards of $2 million since 2010 and arguing that's why Bill Shorten is turning a blind eye to the poor behaviour of many unionists within the CFMEU?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Kieran there's nothing wrong with unions, individuals or businesses donating to political parties. We draw the line at tobacco firms, something that our Coalition colleagues haven't always done but when it comes to donations, when it comes to a $2 million donation, let's focus on the $2 million that the Prime Minister gave the Liberal Party at the last election and hasn't yet disclosed.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP

PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA

MONDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2016

SUBJECT/S: Reelection of the ACT Barr Labor Government; Kimberley Kitching’s Senate appointment; ABCC bill.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning everyone, I'm Andrew Leigh, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer. A couple of weeks ago we had Malcolm Turnbull launching the Canberra Liberals campaign - planting his flag very firmly on the side of the Canberra Liberals. Over the weekend, we saw the repudiation of that view, with Andrew Barr's Labor Government convincingly re-elected. 

What was striking about the platform that the Barr Labor Government ran on was that Old Malcolm would have found a lot to like about it. Old Malcolm would have liked the fact that ACT Labor was committed to renewables, committed to action on same-sex marriage. ACT Labor believes that governments should invest not just in roads but also in rail. Old Malcolm would have liked the fact that ACT Labor is leading the nation in making the transition from stamp duty - a tax on mobility - to a much more efficient land tax base. But New Malcolm decided he would put himself on the side of the Canberra Liberals who were thumped on the weekend and will spend another four years in Opposition. 

ANDREW LEIGH:  Thank you for coming along today, my name is Andrew Leigh, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer.

From the Abbott and Turnbull Governments we've seen nothing but dysfunction when it comes to Australia's statistical collections. Prior to the last Census, there was significant community concern about the Turnbull Government's proposal to increase the retention period for names and addresses - effectively doubling it. The Government did nothing to allay those community concerns. Three Ministers did nothing. Then we had the incompetence of the 2016 Census, a pretty good contender for the worst managed Census anywhere in the world in 2300 years.

Malcolm Turnbull’s Government is threatening cuts to the collection of some of Australia’s most important statistics, with statistics on housing finance, retail sales, early childhood, foreign ownership and crime victimisation in the firing line.

Dr LEIGH (Fenner) (19:16):  This is a government which is pretty strong when it comes to taking on the weak. If they are taking on the pensioners, those with disabilities or carers in the community, then they are pretty tough. But when it comes to taking on some of the biggest companies in the world, this government goes weak at the knees. For years they have been arguing against Labor's attempts to shut down multinational tax loopholes. When we said we wanted to close debt deduction loopholes and the Leader of the Opposition put together a carefully crafted package on debt deduction loopholes, where were they? Are they standing on the side of the little guy? No, they were standing on the side of multinationals.