Andrew Leigh

My Chronicle column this month is on how children learn. 

Playtime's Key Role Badly Undervalued, The Chronicle, 4 November 2014

A surprising number of successful people had academic difficulties as children. Albert Einstein struggled to learn to speak. George Washington could not spell. Richard Branson was unable to read.

Yet somehow these people accomplished extraordinary things.

In The Philosophical Baby, developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik suggests that the success of people who had atypical childhoods should lead us to rethink our standard view of those critical early years. Instead of viewing small children as defective adults, she suggests that we should see them as highly intelligent creatures, designed to learn how our complex world works.

To use a corporate analogy, children are the research and development division, while adults are the production and marketing division.

The interim report of the Harper Competition Review had many interesting things to say about what Australia's future competition policy should look like. But one recommendation that isn't on the right track is the suggestion that the Health Minister should give away the power to oversee private health insurance premium prices. Shadow Minister for Health Catherine King and I explain why in this op-ed which was originally published on the Croakey health blog.

Minister should retain veto power over health insurance premiums, Croakey, 7 November

One of the hardest things to do in politics is to stand up for the many against the few. Where the gain is diffuse, but the cost is concentrated, policymakers have to be strong to get the right outcome.

That, in a nutshell, is why it took decades before governments grasped the nettle on tariff cuts and competition policy. In both cases, it took Labor Governments to recognise that consumer interest needs to be put first.

Which brings us to the case of private health insurance. Today, 55 percent of Australians have health insurance. To contain costs and ensure fairness, Labor means-tested the private health insurance rebate, leading Tony Abbott to predict in 2011 that ‘1.6 million people will drop out of private health insurance’. He was wrong. More Australians now have health insurance than ever before.

But we need to keep downward pressure on health insurance costs. With just five health insurers holding 83 per cent of the market, private health is a relatively concentrated market. While some people change insurers each year, inertia and a fear of waiting periods tend to keep people with the same private health provider. For a single person with the most basic level of cover, the average premium is around $1746 a year – a considerable amount for middle-income households.

The Australian Financial Review has just published some pretty explosive evidence of multinational profit shifting by major Australian and international firms. I joined Waleed Aly on Radio National's Drive program to talk about what the government should be doing to tackle this.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

RADIO INTERVIEW

RADIO NATIONAL DRIVE

THURSDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2014

SUBJECT/S: multinational profit shifting

WALEED ALY: Andrew Leigh joins me now, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer. He's been arguing that we've got some problems here and that the government is going the wrong way about trying to deal with them. Thank you very much for joining us, Andrew.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Pleasure, Waleed.

ALY: Let's talk about this scenario, and let me be radical about this and ask a threshold question: is this actually a problem? Because we can try to close tax loopholes but won't that just ultimately drive people or companies to other countries where they can use those loopholes, and then we don't even get the benefit of their employment?

LEIGH: Waleed, I think it's a constant race between lawyers for multinational firms looking to find loopholes and countries looking to close those loopholes. We need to be vigilant as a country to make sure that we're closing those loopholes. I don't think that making sure that people pay their fair share of tax means that they'll ship all their jobs overseas. In fact, that ought to be a free market notion: that everyone pays the same rate of tax. Every time one firm pays less tax, effectively other firms and individuals have to make up the difference in order to support the social services we value.

ALY: The problem we have here is the cracks which exist in laws between states, ultimately. If we had one global tax regime this would be impossible, you simply couldn't do this. 

LEIGH: That's right. As a result, what you have is firms wanting to book revenue in low-tax jurisdictions and deductions in high-tax jurisdictions. The tax authorities are seeking to stop them doing that. 

ALY: Right. But that needs international cooperation. The G20, I suppose, will take a look at this next week, it's certainly on the agenda. But is there anything Australia can actually do? Because unless everyone is one the same page – it's a bit like the climate change problem – unless everyone cooperates, anything you do ends up being futile.

LEIGH: No, that's not right. We can certainly move to close loopholes in our own tax laws, and that's one of the big things that Wayne Swan and David Bradbury did last year when they put together the biggest ever package of multinational profit shifting reforms. It was so recognised around the world that it won David Bradbury an award for being one of the 50 best tax reformers in 2013. When the Coalition came to office, I'd expected that they'd take that package and build on it. But instead, they took that package and chipped away at it. They gave $1.1 billion of tax breaks back to multinationals by deciding not to proceed with measures, for example, to curtail the use of offshore banking units or to stop multinationals engaging in debt shifting. 

The evidence continues to mount up that Australia's Charities and Not-for-profits Commission is doing great work. Surely it's time for the Abbott Government and Kevin Andrews to start paying attention?

MEDIA RELEASE

USA WANTS A CHARITIES COMMISSION. WHY DOESN'T MR ABBOTT?

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission has proven to be so successful that charity regulators from across the USA are now looking to replicate it. This is further proof that the Abbott Government has got in wrong in moving to scrap the commission.

One of the commission’s senior executives was recently invited to the United States to tell the National Association of State Charity Officials more about how the regulator’s work is increasing transparency and cutting red tape for not-for-profits.

In particular, the US group is looking at replicating Australia’s national Charities Register to increase accountability and protect donors against scams.

It is also considering the Charity Passport initiative, which allows not-for-profits to report once to the charities commission and then have this information shared with other government agencies.   

With new data out showing ACT property prices have started to tumble, it's feeling a bit like 1996 all over again for many Canberra homeowners.

MEDIA RELEASE

ABBOTT'S CUTS ALREADY HURTING CANBERRA HOMEOWNERS

New property data shows Tony Abbott’s cuts to Canberra are starting to bite, with house prices falling 2.3 per cent in October.

While property prices rose in other capitals, an RP Data report shows the price of Canberra homes fell below the national median.

Joe Hockey joked about driving property prices down before the 2013 election, saying:

“There is a golden rule for real estate in Canberra – you buy Liberal and you sell Labor.”

– Press conference, 31 May 2013   

While we all support affordable housing, this is best achieved through smart policies that manage supply, not through massive job losses and collapsing consumer confidence. 

While I was in Hobart with my colleague Lisa Singh, I heard firsthand from lots of Tasmanians about the negative impact changes to the GST distribution would have in their state. So I held a press conference calling on Tasmania's Liberal representatives to stand up for their state and fight Tony Abbott on this; here's the transcript.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP

TUESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2014

HOBART, PARLIAMENT HOUSE

SUBJECT/S: GST distribution; Tony Abbott’s unfair budget; ADF pay deal; polls

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Thanks everyone for coming along. We've been down here today speaking with local community groups about their concerns around Tony Abbott's unfair cuts to Tasmania. Tony Abbott was in Tasmania recently to speak to the Tasmanian Liberals. He says he wants a mature and sensible debate about tax, but he didn't talk to them about his GST plans and how they will adversely affect Tasmania. The simple fact is that the GST is not a magic pudding. If Tony Abbott wants to give more GST to one state, that means other states will get less or the base of the rate of the GST will have to go up. So Tony Abbott needs to be clear with Tasmanians that not only are his $80 billion of health and education cuts hurting this state, but if he wants to give more GST money to one state then that's going to mean less for others. There's a lot of noise being made by certain Liberal members from Western Australia, but by contrast we see the Tasmanian Liberals being completely silent in Canberra, like little lambs cowering in the corner. Will Hodgman is doing nothing to stand up to Tony Abbott on the issue of the GST. 

I wanted to make one other quick comment too, and then happy to take questions.  

On the Government's ADF pay deal, the Government has overseen a pay deal for ADF personnel that will see them getting a real pay cut. This is, in my view, the biggest scandal since the Fine Cotton Affair. Men and women in the defence forces put themselves on the line and they shouldn't have to fight the Abbott Government for a fair deal on pay. They deserve a real pay increase. Stuart Robert, the junior Defence Minister, said while he was in opposition that a real pay cut would have been outrageous. We should apply the same standard to the real pay cut that the Abbott Government is now putting on the table.

I might hand over now to my colleagues to say a couple of words and then happy to take questions.

The Abbott Government's first budget is a disaster for communities around Australia, but Tasmanians will feel the impact more than most. I joined my colleague Senator Lisa Singh in Hobart to hear firsthand from community groups about how Tasmanians will be affected by changes to income support, pensions and healthcare spending, and plan for how we'll keep fighting the government on these.

MEDIA RELEASE

TACKLING INEQUALITY IN TASMANIA

Community groups and grassroots activists have come together to talk about tackling inequality in the wake of the most unfair budget in Australian history.

Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh and Senator for Tasmania Lisa Singh today met with representatives of Anglicare, the Grandparents Advisory Council and other local groups to hear about how Tasmanians will be affected by cuts to income support and pensions, as well as new taxes like the $7 GP fee and higher fuel excise.

“The Abbott Government’s first budget chipped away at the very pillars that support the Australian fair go,” said Dr Leigh, who last year authored a book titled Battlers and Billionaires: The Story of Inequality in Australia.

"Over the past generation Australia has seen a rise in inequality, with a widening gap between those on high incomes and those struggling to make their pay last from week to week," he said. 

"Tony Abbott's first budget will make us a more divided society, because his cuts hurt those on low incomes, while his giveaways help those at the top.

Later this month, the British, Chinese and Indian leaders will address the Australian Parliament. For each address, each MP gets one ticket. I thought I’d offer mine to those who read my website or receive my eReport.

With plenty of speculation around about the Abbott Government's plans on the GST, I joined Capital Hill to talk about the implications of changing any one state's share of the pie. Here's the transcript:

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

ONLINE INTERVIEW

ABC CAPITAL HILL

MONDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2014

SUBJECT/S: GST distribution; interest rates

LYNDAL CURTIS: Joining me now is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Member for Fraser, Andrew Leigh. Andrew Leigh, welcome to Capital Hill. Do you believe Western Australia has a real problem?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Well Lyndal, certainly all states and territories are struggling after the $80 billion cut to health and education that Tony Abbott delivered in his last budget. That has made it harder for the states and territories – whether they be governed by Labor or Liberal governments – to make ends meet.

CURTIS: But Western Australia had a problem even before that; it's been complaining about this for some time.

LEIGH: There's a strong case being made by the Western Australian members of parliament. But the problem is that Tony Abbott wants to have it both ways. He wants to send smoke signals out in the west that he's open to giving them a greater share of the GST, but then to say to people in the east that they won't lose out. But Lyndal, the GST is not a magic pudding. If one state gets a larger amount, then it is either because another state has got a smaller amount, or because they've raised the rate or the base.

I'm not much of a believer in polls, but I know there's one set of numbers Australians are pretty worried about right now. I joined Fairfax's Breaking Politics program to talk about what they are; here's the transcript.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

ONLINE INTERVIEW

FAIRFAX BREAKING POLITICS

MONDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2014

SUBJECT/S: Ipsos poll; Royal Commission into union corruption; UN climate change report

CALLUM DENNESS: Joining me now is Andrew Leigh and Andrew Laming, good morning to you both.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning.

ANDREW LAMING, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR BOWMAN: Good morning.

DENNESS: Andrew Leigh, if I could start with you first: new polling today shows that the Prime Minister remains unpopular and there are key policies that are unloved, yet the government has moved into an election-winning position. That would be pretty worrying for the Opposition, wouldn't it?

LEIGH: Callum, I don't place much store on poll numbers. But I do think there are certain numbers that are worrying Australians. There's the $7 Tony Abbott wants them to pay to go to the doctor, the $6,000 he's taking away from the poorest single parents, and the last-placed ranking we've achieved in the global Green Economy Index for leadership on climate change. They're the kinds of numbers that are of deep concern to me, and which resonate whenever I'm out on street corners talking to my electors.