Andrew Leigh

TIME FOR TURNBULL TO STEP UP ON TAX HAVENS

Almost 20 multinational companies are under investigation by the Australian Tax Office the latest tax avoidance scandal unveiled by international reporters today.

Until the Government commits to a comprehensive Tax Haven Transparency package - as Labor has - the public is going to rely on Paradise Papers style leaks to expose the murky use of tax havens.

But the Turnbull Government is more likely devoting their energy to a scare campaign about public information about who uses these tax havens and how much tax they pay.

Malcolm Turnbull’s team won’t commit to making companies that are bidding for government contracts state where they pay tax - so the public knows where their money really goes - and they won’t commit to rewards for whistleblowers who do the right thing.

These were two of the measures Labor has already publicly backed as part of its plan for a fair tax system, announced six months ago.

TONY BURKE MP, SHADOW MINISTER FOR CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA

 ANDREW LEIGH MP, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER

TERRI BUTLER MP, MEMBER FOR GRIFFITH 

GRAHAM PERRETT MP, MEMBER FOR MORETON

REDUCING THE COST OF INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCES

In Australia, many people work long hours to send money back to family overseas.

According to the World Bank, remittances to developing countries are worth half a trillion dollars annually – twice the value of foreign aid.

These people deserve a safe and secure way for people to send money which doesn’t involve large portions being eaten up by fees from financial institutions.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

SKY NEWS AGENDA

MONDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2017 

SUBJECTS: High Court decision and Barnaby Joyce breaking the law, Queensland  election, Labor’s positive trade agenda, Choosing Openness.

KIERAN GILBERT: Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Andrew Leigh. That will be Labor’s focus, won’t it, to try to break off one of those members of the Coalition under the final sitting fortnight when it arrives at the end of November?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Kieran, we’re strong champions of the issues that we were elected to parliament to work on – issues like defending penalty rates, making sure that Australians have a clean environment and renewable jobs. We won’t stop our forceful advocacy of those issues just because the government is in crisis. This is entirely of their own making. They were warned months back that Barnaby Joyce ought to step down as a minister as soon as his citizenship was in doubt. But Malcolm Turnbull thought that he knew better than the High Court and he’s once again proven that maxim that a man who would be his own lawyer has a fool for a client.  The High Court said very clearly that Malcolm Turnbull’s confidence was misplaced. Now, many ministerial decisions are up in the air.

GILBERT: So, in relation to Labor’s approach though, you can reassure our viewers this morning that it won’t be about simply trying to bring down the government? Because as I said, if there were to be a vote on relation to restoring penalty rates or indeed even a bank royal commission, that would be so damaging to the government. To lose control of the floor in that way would be the end of the government, essentially – it would be a vote of no confidence, essentially.

LEIGH: Kieran, our focus is on getting good outcomes for the people of Australia. Australians want decent penalty rates on weekends. They believe - from every study I’ve seen, Australians believe that those working on weekends should be paid fairly for their services. They believe the banks should be held to account through a Royal Commission. We’ll pursue those issues as strongly as ever, because that’s what we were elected to parliament to do – to focus on reducing inequality and bring about a fairer Australia.

Fenner Lecture 2017

The Chronicle, October 24 2017

Not many genetic researchers can tango, but for Australian National University scientist Carola Vinuesa, it’s a welcome break from long hours in the laboratory.

Professor Vinuesa’s work on autoimmune diseases is vital for helping people with conditions such as type 1 diabetes and lupus. She has won a plethora of prizes, including the Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year and the Elizabeth Blackburn Fellowship for biomedical research.  And if that wasn’t enough, Spanish-born Professor Vinuesa has worked as a doctor in India and Ghana.

FEDERATION CHAMBER

26 OCTOBER 2017

On a warm spring evening nearly 100 Canberrans gathered at the Belconnen Community Centre recently to discuss with Tara Cheyne MLA and me ways they use broadband and the challenges many of them are facing in getting a decent connection. In days gone by, fast internet was a luxury, but it's becoming a necessity. We don't just stream videos; we use fast internet to watch university lectures and for grandparents and their grandkids to stay in touch. Speedy internet is like water and electricity: a utility that we expect to be there when we need it.

Yet there were many troubling stories. One constituent said that when their child's internet was too slow to do their homework it meant that the child had to stay up late to finish it and sometimes ended up falling asleep in class the next day. A parent of a university student told us:

My daughter drives into university at night because our home connection is too slow. I worry about her returning to a deserted campus in the late hours and spending long periods alone in computer labs, but it's the only way she can get the speed she needs to get the core coursework done.

Free trade is hard but better than the alternative

The Daily Telegraph, 27 October 2017

In February, President Trump gave a speech at a Boeing factory, lauding the launch of the newest model Dreamliner. He told the crowd: ‘This plane, as you know, was built right here in the great state of South Carolina. Our goal as a nation must be to rely less on imports and more on products made right here in the USA.’

But the Dreamliner wasn’t just made in America. Sections of the fuselage are Italian and Korean. Parts of the wings are Australian and Japanese. The landing gear is British, the cargo doors are Swedish, and the passenger doors are French. Four out of five Dreamliners will be exported and all will be used for international travel. The Dreamliner is of the world, by the world, and for the world. Few products better epitomise globalisation.

World trade is just another form of comparative advantage, letting countries specialise in what they do best. Look at any individual transaction, and you will see benefits to both the importer and the exporter. After all, unless both buyer and seller were better off, the sale wouldn’t happen. Just as your hairdresser doesn’t defeat you when you get a haircut, Japan doesn’t defeat you when you buy a PlayStation. Sellers aren’t vanquishing buyers – both are benefiting from specialisation.

What are the risks of protectionism? On the campaign trail, President Trump repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs as a way of discouraging firms from moving manufacturing production to countries such as Mexico. Thankfully, the United States has not yet implemented these threatened 45 per cent tariffs. But we can get some insights into what the effects might be from the contrasting experiences of Argentina and Korea.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

PVO NEWSDAY

THURSDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2017 

SUBJECTS: Michaelia Cash, AWU, Multinational tax avoidance.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: To continue discussing this as well as some wider issues in his portfolio, I’m joined now by the Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Dr Andrew Leigh. Thanks very much for your company.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Pleasure, Peter. Great to be with you.

VAN ONSELEN: Forget to shave this morning?

LEIGH: It’s apparently all the rage. I’m following in the footsteps of your regular Sky guests Chris Bowen, Ed Husic, Stephen Jones. All the cool kids seem to be doing it.

VAN ONSELEN: [laughter] Is that the best you can do building a beard? We’ll move on, there are some very serious issues to be discussed. We will get to some of the issues in your portfolio around the government, in your words, not delivering a cent on multinational tax avoidance. Something that, if you like, has been overshadowed by the bigger news which is where I have to start. Michaelia Cash – Labor believes that she should resign because of the inappropriate actions of her staff. When’s Penny Wong going to resign over the inappropriate actions of her staff, vis-à-vis the New Zealanders?

LEIGH: Peter, it’s a ridiculous comparison. You know as well as I do that we’re talking about tipping off the media to a police raid. This is extraordinarily serious stuff and frankly, if the issue here was destroying documents, how much more ham-fisted can it be than to send the press along beforehand? Imagine the scene outside the AWU offices – ‘What are you television reporters doing here? Oh, we’re here for the police raid. Really? Why is the police raid happening? Well, it’s happening to make sure you don’t destroy documents’. I mean, this is public maladministration of the first order. Michaelia Cash needs to step down.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

25 OCTOBER 2017

As the member for Hotham has ably set out in this chamber, Labor will support tougher penalties for firearms trafficking but what we won't support are ineffective measures.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

25 OCTOBER 2017

I move the opposition amendment circulated in the name of the member for McMahon:

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

25 OCTOBER 2017

By leave—I move amendments (1) to (4), as circulated in the name of the member for McMahon, together: