The Future of Medicare: Research-Informed Policy for Better Access and Health - Speech
THE FUTURE OF MEDICARE: RESEARCH-INFORMED POLICY FOR BETTER ACCESS AND HEALTH
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Symposium
Wednesday 19 June 2024, Canberra
I acknowledge the Ngunnawal elders, on whose traditional lands we meet, and pay respect to all First Nations people here today.
In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a father proudly tells his son ‘When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England.’
Building Medicare wasn’t easy. In the 1960s, economists John Deeble and Dick Scotton of the University of Melbourne carried out an industry study of the health care sector. In a recent article, Ross Williams recounts their work (Williams 2024). Using data on 5000 people across four states, combined with Ronald Henderson’s poverty survey, Deeble and Scotton showed the problems in the existing system.
They found numerous shortcomings. Pensioners got free health care, but low-income workers didn’t. Around one in five Victorians lacked health insurance, and therefore risked a double whammy – if they became badly ill, they could lose their life savings to medical bills. Meanwhile, the system was regressive, since the most affluent enjoyed tax deductibility of both premiums and co-payments.
Read moreUnchain My Job - Opinion Piece
UNCHAIN MY JOB
Bianca, a young hairdressing apprentice, didn’t feel she was receiving enough training. So she looked at switching jobs. But it turned out that Bianca’s employment agreement barred her for working for any competitor within 10 kilometres for a year.
There’s also Betty, who was terminated from her job as a store manager. Even although she had been fired, she was still bound by a clause in her employment agreement that prevented her from working anywhere in the Northern Territory. If she wanted to work as a store manager anytime in the next twelve months, Betty would have to move interstate.
And then there’s Madison, who worked at a consulting firm. After experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination, she negotiated a resignation. But the firm still did its best to uphold a clause in her employment agreement that prevented Madison from taking a job with any client of her former employer.
Read moreDiscovering What Works: Why Rigorous Evaluation Matters - Speech
DISCOVERING WHAT WORKS: WHY RIGOROUS EVALUATION MATTERS*
Australian Evaluation Showcase
Monday 17 June 2024, Canberra
*** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY ***
I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of these lands, and pay respect to all First Nations people present.
You might think that certain truths are so self-evident that they transcend the need for evidence. For example, in the area of education, surely we know that:
- Parents are more likely to get their kids to school with the threat of losing income support.
- Literacy tests are a fair representation of students’ ability.
- Early childhood staff have the skills they need.
- A health program that is co-designed with students and educators will address adolescents’ risk behaviours.
Pedals of Possibility: Unleashing the Power of Two Wheels
PEDALS OF POSSIBILITY: UNLEASHING THE POWER OF TWO WHEELS
In 1816, Europe found itself grappling with the aftermath of a catastrophic volcanic eruption half a world away. The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia precipitated what came to be known as the ‘Year Without a Summer,’ casting a shadow of agricultural despair across continents. Crops failed, livestock perished, and the very fabric of nineteenth century society, so heavily reliant on equine power, frayed under the scarcity of food and the loss of horses. It was within this crucible of necessity and ingenuity that Baron Karl von Drais, a German civil servant with a keen mind for invention, introduced a creation that would eventually revolutionize human mobility: the ‘Draisine’, or as it is more romantically known, the ‘Laufmaschine’ (which translates as running machine.
Read moreABC Canberra Drive with Ross Solly Thursday 13 June - Transcript
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC CANBERRA DRIVE WITH ROSS SOLLY
THURSDAY, 13 JUNE 2024
SUBJECTS: Reducing poker machines in ACT clubs, more than half a million full-time jobs created under the Albanese Labor Government, political donation reforms, inflation, cost-of-living help, PwC scandal
ROSS SOLLY, HOST: Andrew Leigh is the Member for Fenner and joins us on the program. We were going to talk ‑ we are going to talk about unemployment figures. Good afternoon to you, Dr Leigh.
ASSISTANT MINISTER ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon, Ross, great to be with you.
SOLLY: And you as well. Can I just ask you, though, what your view is on the role of clubs and poker machines in a community like the ACT? You've lived in this community for a long, long time. Do they play a valuable role, the clubs, and do you share their concerns that if you remove all the pokies that the clubs will no longer exist as we know it?
Read moreArtificial Intelligence at Work: Changing Demand for AI Skills in Job Advertisements - Speech
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AT WORK: CHANGING DEMAND FOR AI SKILLS IN JOB ADVERTISEMENTS*
Australian Bureau of Statistics and Reserve Bank of Australia Joint Conference on Human Capital
11 June 2024, Sydney
I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of these lands, and pay respect to all First Nations people present.
Barely a day goes by without someone discovering a new use for artificial intelligence. Financial institutions are using AI to detect fraud, by looking for unusual transaction patterns. AI integrated with virtual reality is being used to create highly realistic training simulations for pilots, first responders and surgeons. Musicians are using AI to create new instruments and vocal processes. Educators are using AI to personalise the learning experience. Dating coaches are using AI to train people on finding their perfect match. Gardeners are using AI to choose which plants will work best together, schedule optimal watering times and devise pest control strategies. Carers are using AI to craft fictional stories that are perfectly tailored for young listeners.
AI engines have matched and exceeded humans on a range of tests. As Stanford University’s AI Index 2024 Annual Report points out, artificial intelligence has exceeded human benchmarks on tasks such as reading comprehension, image classification and visual reasoning (see Figure 1). As AI has surpassed these benchmarks, researchers have had to identify new challenges, such as competition-level mathematics, where AI has moved from 10 per cent of human-level performance in 2021 to 90 per cent on the latest estimates (Maslej et al 2024).
2CC Breakfast with Stephen Cenatiempo Tuesday 11 June - Transcript
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC BREAKFAST WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
TUESDAY, 11 JUNE 2024
SUBJECTS: Prevalence of AI jobs in Australian economy, Coalition advocating austerity measures, Peter Dutton abandoning climate change targets, reform of the NDIS, impact of renewables on ACT power prices.
STEPHEN CENATIEMPO, HOST: All right, time to talk federal politics with the assistant Minister for competition charities and Treasury and member for Fenner, Andrew Leigh. Andrew, good morning.
ASSISTANT MINISTER ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning, Stephen.
CENATIEMPO: Quite a number of things to talk about this morning. Artificial intelligence at work, changing demand for AI skills in job advertisements. Talk to us about this.
Read moreHow Monopolies Hurt the Economy - Opinion Piece
HOW MONOPOLIES HURT THE ECONOMY
When my three boys were younger, there was one sure way to start a family fight: play Monopoly. The board game would start calmly enough, with some teasing over who got to be the battleship, the boot and the thimble. But within the hour, lucky dice rolls would create a clear divide between the moguls and the marginalised. Sure, Monopoly might be the only place where rich and poor have an equal chance of going to jail. But like life, the game entrenches privilege. When you’re rich, you buy houses and hotels, which bring in rent from the other players. As the monopolist brother started taunting their soon-to-be-bankrupt siblings, yelling was sure to follow.
Monopolists aren’t evil – they’re just acting in line with their incentives. Writing in 1776, Adam Smith observed: “The interest of the dealers, however, in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public. To widen the market and to narrow the competition, is always the interest of the dealers.”
Read moreAfternoon Briefing with Greg Jennett 6 June - Transcript
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
AFTERNOON BRIEFING WITH GREG JENNETT
THURSDAY, 6 JUNE 2024
SUBJECTS: Government’s productivity agenda, reform on non-compete clauses, release of 10th Australian Charities Report.
LORNA DUNKLEY (ABC NEWS): Assistant Minister for Treasury, Andrew Leigh, says Australia needs to put greater emphasis on productivity to curb slowing GDP growth. The economy grew just 0.1 per cent the first quarter of this year.
Despite this, Mr Leigh told Afternoon Briefings', Greg Jennett, he's optimistic about the future of Australia's economy.
ASSISTANT MINISTER ANDREW LEIGH: The Coalition's productivity agenda tends to be about cutting; cutting wages, cutting regulation. Ours is about investing, investing in people, investing in infrastructure and investing in institutions like our National Competition Policy reforms.
That's how we're going to get the sustainable wage growth into the future. I'm really confident that we're going to harness the best the technology has to offer in order to increase living standards.
Read moreWorld Leading Country-By-Country Reporting Introduced to Parliament - Media Release
WORLD LEADING COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY REPORTING INTRODUCED TO PARLIAMENT
The Government has introduced provisions to establish one of the world’s most comprehensive public country-by-country reporting regimes in a major step forward for tax transparency. This implements a key election commitment of the Government to make multinationals pay their fair share in tax.
Public country‑by‑country reporting will provide the community with a better understanding of how much tax multinationals pay relative to their activities. It puts the onus on large multinationals (with annual global income of A$1 billion or more) to be upfront about where they pay tax and how they plan their tax strategies.
Read more