Andrew Leigh

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH TOM CONNELL
THURSDAY, 18 JANUARY 2024

SUBJECTS: Labour force figures; Competition in the supermarket sector

TOM CONNELL (HOST): We’re joined by the Assistant Treasury and Assistant Employment Minister, Andrew Leigh. Thank you for your time. I think you're the Assistant Minister to the Treasury?

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES, COMPETITION, TREASURY AND EMPLOYMENT ANDREW LEIGH: That's right, yes.

CONNELL: There you go. So, unemployment still with a three in front of it, it feels like a four is pretty inevitable. More than 100,000 full time jobs going. Is that going to be the well, not the new normal, the old normal is a three in front of it, unrealistic, do you think, as a permanent sort of facet of the economy?

LEIGH: Well, Tom, it is worth recognising how strong the labour market has been under the Albanese government. Under the former government, unemployment was around 5-6% for most of their nine years in office. Under us, it's consistently been below 4%. That translates into about 300,000 more jobs than if unemployment had been where it was under the Coalition.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY AM AGENDA WITH CHENG LEI
WEDNESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2024

SUBJECTS: Appointment of Craig Emerson to Review Food and Grocery Code of Conduct; Measures to assist with rising cost of living; Rate of unemployment; Cost of school supplies; Support for charity sector.

CHENG LEI (HOST): Joining me now is the Assistant Minister for Competition Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh. Hey there, Andrew. Thanks for coming on the show. So, let's talk about this review. Why was that rejected?

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES, COMPETITION, TREASURY AND EMPLOYMENT: Cheng, David Littleproud was part of a government that did nothing on competition for a decade. So, it's pretty rich for him to be talking about it now. The fact is, since we came to office, we've increased the penalties for anti-competitive conduct. We've banned unfair contract terms. We carried out a review last year into the dispute resolution processes of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. And as scheduled this year we're conducting a review into the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct itself. Unlike previous reviews of the Code, this is being conducted by one of our top policy economists, Craig Emerson, a man with a big heart and a big brain who'll bring his intellect to bear on looking at how Australian suppliers and consumers can get a better deal in the grocery sector.

Joint media release with
The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister of Australia

The Hon Jim Chalmers MP
Treasurer 

The Hon Murray Watt MP
Minister for Emergency Management
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Appointment of Dr Craig Emerson as Independent Reviewer of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct

The Albanese Government has appointed Dr Craig Emerson to lead the 2023-24 review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct (the Code) to ensure that the supermarket sector is working as it should.

The Food and Grocery code is prescribed under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and Metcash are signatories to the Code and are bound by it.

The Code was introduced to improve standards of business behaviour in the food and grocery sector.

The Code regulates the conduct of these retailers and wholesalers towards suppliers.

Tis the season to give generously

The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 20 December 2023

They called Chuck Feeney the “James Bond of philanthropy”. During his life, he gave away his entire $US8bn fortune. And he did it anonymously.

But Feeney wasn’t always focused on giving. At age 50, he owned homes in London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Aspen and the French Riviera, partied on yachts, and attended black-tie soirees. Having started off selling duty free cigarettes, he had built a duty free empire that operated like a money machine.

That was when he had an epiphany and decided to give it all away. Having grown up in a working class New Jersey family, Feeney decided that he would return to a simple life.

Joint media release with 
The Hon Bill Shorten
Minister for the National Services

CRACKING DOWN ON UNFAIR NDIS PARTICIPANT PRICING

The Australian Government is putting an end to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) “wedding tax” that has seen people with disability being forced to pay exorbitantly jacked up prices for essential services, supports and equipment.

Labor will double down on dodgy NDIS providers with the establishment of a multi-agency Taskforce comprising of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the NDIS Quality and Safeguards  Commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency.

Joint media release with
The Hon Tony Burke MP
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Minister for the Arts
Leader of the House

SERVICE IMPROVEMENT TRIALS FOR WORKFORCE AUSTRALIA ONLINE

The Australian Government is undertaking service improvement trials for Workforce Australia Online, to ensure employment services better meet the needs of the people who use them.

These trials will help build public sector stewardship in the employment services system, a key reform principle outlined in the Employment White Paper.

The trials will test whether people using online services get better employment outcomes, such as through more intensive job-finding support delivered by government and reduced length of time in online services. 

The service improvement trials are designed in partnership with the Australian Centre for Evaluation at Treasury, and subject to a robust ethical framework.

Participation will be voluntary, with opt-out provisions available to all clients.

The online service improvement trials will inform the government’s response to the House Select Committee into Workforce Australia Employment Services.

MEDIA RELEASE

Australia to negotiate new tax treaties with Ukraine and Brazil

The Australian Government is expanding its tax treaty negotiation program to work towards its first tax treaties with Ukraine and Brazil, and to update treaties with New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and Sweden.

Australia’s work to negotiate a tax treaty with Ukraine, reflects the Government’s support for Ukraine. It provides new opportunities to strengthen our economic and people-to-people links. 

Australia will also look to negotiate its first tax treaty with Brazil, which will bring significant economic benefits to both nations through reduced taxation barriers to trade and investment, more certainty and reduced compliance cost for taxpayers. The treaty will also feature integrity measures to reduce tax evasion.

MEDIA RELEASE

GOVERNMENT DELIVERING ON ACCC DESIGNATED COMPLAINTS FUNCTION

The Albanese Government is delivering on the Government’s Better Competition election commitment, with the release of draft legislation which creates a designated complaints function within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The function will empower designated consumer and small business advocates to submit a complaint to the ACCC where they have evidence of a significant or systemic market issue affecting Australian consumers or small businesses.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC MELBOURNE BREAKFAST WITH RAF EPSTEIN
THURSDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Release of coins with King Charles III’s effigy; Visa arrangements with Pacific nations; High Court decision on detention; State of the economy.

RAF EPSTEIN: It's a busy end of the year for the federal government. We might get onto their political woes, but right now, Andrew Leigh joins us as Assistant Minister for Charities, Competition, Treasury and Employment. Good morning.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning, Raf. Great to be with you.

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.