Andrew Leigh

Along with Gary Humphries, Paul Bongiorno and new editor Michael Keating, I re-launched the journal 'Inside Canberra' last night. In the first issue, I have a short piece on economic growth, which is below. (And yes, my title is shamelessly cribbed from Gene Sperling's splendid book of the same name.)

The Pro-Growth Progressive
Inside Canberra, Vol 65, No 1

Economic growth researchers have something they call ‘the rule of 72’. If you want to know how many years it will take for economic growth to double a country’s standard of living, just take the number 72 and divide it by the growth rate. For example, a country growing at 8 percent a year (think China) will double its income levels every 9 years. A nation growing at 4 percent a year (think Australia in our good years) will double its income levels every 18 years. And a nation growing at 2 percent a year (think Japan in recent years) will double its income levels every 36 years.

So while the difference between 2 percent growth and 4 percent growth may not sound like much now, it’s the difference between doubling our living standards by 2030 versus 2048.

Unlike some on the far left of politics, I firmly believe that growth is good. Higher incomes allow us to enjoy better food, travel and entertainment, spend more time with our families, and be more generous to the most disadvantaged. Far from threatening the planet, rising incomes offer the best hope for dealing with environmental challenges such as climate change.

So what are the policies that should underpin economic growth? In the long-term, it’s about productivity. As Princeton University economist Paul Krugman puts it, productivity isn’t the only thing, but it’s almost the only thing. A society that becomes more efficient every year tends to enjoy rapid economic growth. A nation that fails to innovate typically stagnates.

In the Australian parliament today, you see vastly divergent views on the question of productivity. On the left of politics, we believe that education is fundamental to boosting productivity. That’s why social democratic governments are typically so committed to improving the education system. Like the Clinton and Blair governments before us, the Rudd and Gillard Governments have set about increasing both the quality and quantity of the education system. We’ve encouraged states to raise school leaving ages, built Trades Training Centres, and expanded the number of university places. We’ve also created accountability through the MySchool website, and provided extra resources to low-SES schools.

But on the conservative side of politics, there’s a view that the way to raise productivity is by restricting union rights and making it easier to dismiss workers. This view of the world seems remarkably impervious to facts. Under WorkChoices, productivity growth continued to decline. Indeed, at a recent conference held by the Reserve Bank of Australia, prominent economist Saul Eslake noted in a lengthy discussion of productivity that the Howard Government’s workplace relations reforms didn’t boost productivity.

The other key to growth is ensuring that when a recession strikes, the government supports economic demand. This is what the federal Labor government did in 2008-09, when monetary and fiscal policy together helped save thousands of jobs and small businesses. As a result of this spending (and the revenue downgrades), the government accumulated a modest level of debt, which will peak at less than a tenth of national income.

As with productivity, the Opposition has inveighed against sensible economic policy, making incredible claims about our national debt levels being unsustainable. Yet the alternative to debt would have been to plunge the Australian economy into recession, with all the scarring effect that unemployment has on the jobless. Our fiscal stimulus was timely, targeted and temporary – and the cost is rapidly being paid off.

Good economic management is central to Labor’s vision for Australia. Whether it’s over the economic cycle, or across decades, we’re committed to the economic growth that will see living standards double as quickly as possible.

Andrew Leigh is the Federal Member for Fraser, and a former professor of economics at the Australian National University. His website is www.andrewleigh.com.

I spoke in parliament today on a condolence motion for the late AAP journalist Peter Veness.

Peter Veness
8 February 2012

I first came to know Peter Veness on the doors of Parliament House. For those outside this building, doors are a bit of a strange ritual. You walk out the front of Parliament House to a press pack that asks you questions about any issue of the day. Peter Veness was the man who asked the hardest questions. He would often be on the fringes of the press pack and he would call out at you, not about what was on the front page of the paper necessarily but about what he thought was the most important issue. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and given a few months to live, and he nearly made it to three years. In that time Pete knew that his life was short and he needed to do what he could to make it count. His questions were punchy, penetrating and straight to the point, as the best journalists are. I remember he said to me after one particularly bruising doors session: 'This place has lost its spontaneity. Doors used to be about the opening of the car doors; now it is about the opening of the parliamentary doors.' All I could reply was: 'Pete, I have to come out here to face your questions. I want to be prepared.'

I talked to Pete about this when I went to see him in the Clare Holland House hospice towards the end of his life. I am not sure how much he understood. He was going in and out of sleep at the time. With him was the little blue teddy bear and the crucifix that he held in his hand. As you do in these circumstances, I just talked and told him about how much he had influenced me in the short time we had known one another. And it was a short innings. Peter Veness passed away aged 27, far too young for anyone to be taken from us. His funeral was a fitting send-off. AAP journalist Adam Gartrell spoke about how Peter embodied the best of the craft of journalism. He told the story of Peter Veness writing a yarn that Peter thought was the best one he had ever written. It was about a farmer doing it tough. The only reason he got the story was by striking up a conversation with a random guy in a pub in the bush. Gartrell said:

'That was pure Pete. He may have written about elections, political spills and scandals, but writing about the plight of the common man was what really made his heart sing.'

We heard from his wife Bec Veness, who with extraordinary strength gently scolded Pete for having failed to prepare some words and said, "He didn't lose. He kicked cancer's arse every day for almost three years,"Warwick Newell told a splendid story of one of his big nights out with Pete. He said, 'I lost Pete after a big night out. He called me a few hours later from a bus in Bankstown in a frenzied and unexplained search for Paul Keating.' All of us erupted into laughter.

That was one of the many sides to Pete Veness.

The service itself finished in the most poignant of ways, with the parliamentary press gallery forming a guard of honour from the door of the church through to the gate at St John’s. It was all the more poignant because on the back of the funeral service program was a picture of Pete and Bec coming out of the same door of the church just a few years earlier, as newlyweds.

One of my favourite obituaries of Pete Veness was that written by Chris Johnson, a Canberra Times journalist, who really got to know Pete because they were in adjacent offices in the press gallery and were both inveterate music lovers. Chris wrote in his obituary that Pete Veness was:

'A larrikins' larrikin by any reckoning. Loud and boisterous, yet with a heart as big as his cheeky grin.'

Chris told the story that Pete, who appeared to me an extremely confident journalist, once confided to him, 'Do you know what a big deal it is for me to be in this gallery? I'd better not stuff it up.' But you never got that sense of fragility from Pete Veness. You got a sense of somebody who had earned his right to be here and who did his job in the best spirit of the press gallery.

Chris disclosed that Peter Veness sometimes wrote music reviews under a pseudonym, the name Sal Caulfield combining Sal Paradise, from On the Road, and Holden Caulfield, from Catcher in the Rye. That of course sent me on a hunt for some of the reviews written by Sal Caulfield. There I found some of the best of Pete Veness's writing. Here he is in the Canberra Times on 8 May 2008 writing under his pseudonym about an album by Cog, Sharing Space:

'Producer Sylvia Massey left plenty of air among the almost apocalyptic electronic twitches that dart around Flynn Gower’s pleading, pounding voice in the verses. The air evaporates when the chorus arrives pushing the listener back with sheer volume and urging the ear forward in anticipation at the same moment.'

It is beautiful writing—another reason, I think, so many of us are so sad that Pete is not here to contribute to the great craft of journalism for many decades yet. As recently as 3 November last year he wrote for AAP the story of the killing in Afghanistan of Captain Bryce Duffy, Corporal Ashley Birt and Lance Corporal Luke Gavin. He wanted to keep on working to the end, and he continued to make a great contribution.

Journalist Peter Martin reminded me that one of the things that some of the tributes to Peter Veness have passed over is how devout he was. At the service, Peter read Psalm 23, 'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want', and he pointed out to me that Peter Veness was the chair of St John’s Anglican Church council and was studying theology at St Mark’s. Peter Martin suggested that in preparing these brief remarks I should speak to Margaret Campbell, the assistant minister at St John’s. I spoke to Margaret this morning and she said that I should remind the House of what a man of great faith Peter Veness was, that he took great comfort in the promise of eternal life and that he was there in the church every Sunday. Margaret said, 'Peter Veness challenged us, and we will really miss one of our own.'

I too will miss him. Doors will never be the same without him, and this place is a little poorer for his passing.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/hOR520HkPn0

I spoke in parliament today about Joe Hockey’s extraordinary attacks on public servants.

A Strong Public Service
8 February 2012

I rise today to speak about the importance of a strong Australian Public Service and the threats to Canberra public servants. On Q&A on Monday night, the member for North Sydney said:

‘They’ve increased the public service in Canberra by 20,000 since they were elected and we’ve said, and I know it gets me in trouble with my colleagues in Canberra, but I’ve said that 12,000 will be made redundant within the first two years as a starting point and that’s hard but we’ve got, for example, six and a half thousand people in the department of health that has no patients, no doctors, and no nurses and, I'm sorry, you can't live outside of your means.’

Three minutes is barely enough to do justice to the many wrongheaded statements contained within that quote, but let me do my best.

Firstly, the member for North Sydney has for the fifth time misrepresented Public Service numbers. As the Special Minister for State has noted, official figures show that the public service has increased from June 2007 to June 2011 by 11,072. In terms of number and percentage increases, that is the smallest increase since 2003-04. I am informed by the Special Minister of State that the member for North Sydney has been offered a briefing by the Australian Public Service Commission, but has declined that briefing and continues to cite incorrect public service numbers.

Secondly, the member for North Sydney seems unaware that public servants are people too. Ironically, later in the Q&A program the member for North Sydney said:

‘What we’ve got to do is make sure there are more jobs in the community …’

He has an odd way of showing it, given that in the ACT he intends to get rid of 12,000 public servants. The member for North Sydney has in the past said that he will put the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency on the chopping block. Now the Department of Health and Ageing is on the chopping block, and surely the remainder of the Public Service is not far behind.

What do those people in the Department of Health and Ageing do? For starters, the member for North Sydney might try asking the Leader of the Opposition, who was, after all, the minister for health when the Howard government left office. In fact, the size of the Department of Health and Ageing is basically the same as it was when the Leader of the Opposition was minister for health: 5,164 as of 31 January this year; 4,818 when Mr Abbott was the minister. Those people work on preventive health, health research, pharmaceutical benefits. The Liberal Party's plan for the public service is damaging not only to Canberra but also to all of Australia. Public servants do tremendously hard work. Three-fifths of them are female. They work on issues like managing our response to disasters, helping Australians who are in trouble overseas and implementing the fiscal stimulus that helped all Australians in the global financial crisis.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/VbUvLQu49PE

I spoke in parliament tonight about Asia-literacy, Ken Henry's Asian Century report, refugees, and the Canberra Multicultural Festival. The speech is below (and if you're at the Festival this coming Saturday, please come over to the Andrew Leigh stall and say g'day).

The Asian Century
7 February 2012

If there’s one prediction we can confidently make about the Australia of the future, it’s that our nation will become more ethnically diverse and more enmeshed with Asia. Since the end of the White Australia policy, the share of our migrants coming from non-English speaking countries has continued to grow. The effects of this immigration can be seen in the diverse cuisine now available in our restaurants, but this is really only a superficial picture of how migration has affected the nation.

In thousands of workplaces today, Australians are drawing on the culture and experiences of nearly every nation on the globe. At the same time, the growth of China and India is placing us closer than ever to the economic centre of gravity of the world economy. This isn’t just a mining story – in fact, Australia’s service exports to China exceed our coal exports. It’s a story that illuminates the evolution of our national character. The next generation of Australians will be more likely to have been born in Asia, travelled to Asia, worked in Asia, or married someone from Asia.

To look at the economic and social opportunities that this change provides, the Prime Minister has commissioned former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry to produce a report on ‘The Asian Century’. Dr Henry will be assisted by an advisory panel: Peter Drysdale, John Denton, Catherine Livingstone, Gordon de Brouwer, David Gruen and Heather Smith. Submissions for the White Paper close on February 26, and I encourage interested groups and individuals to make a submission.

Growing engagement with Asia means that the parliament needs to keep increasing our Asia-literacy. We can be proud to have a Mandarin-speaking foreign minister and representatives of Asian descent such as Senators Penny Wong and Lisa Singh. I hope we can welcome more Nguyens, Desais and Zhangs into this parliament over the years to come.

Some of us have spent time living in Asia. One of the things I’ve found since coming into parliament is that I’ve increasingly drawn on my own background growing up as a child in Malaysia and Indonesia, and had the chance to tell the stories of people like Jamie Mackie and Herb Feith, who helped forge our nation’s relationship with the region. Thanks to the encouragement of Melanie Tait, I even told the tale of my childhood as an ‘AusAID brat’ in Aceh as part of ABC 666’s ‘Now Hear This’ event last December. It was a daunting and rewarding experience.

As a local MP, a diverse Canberra is a great source of pride for me. This weekend, the annual Canberra Multicultural Festival will be held in my electorate. The festival celebrates differences by showcasing the art, music, dance and food of culturally rich Canberra.

The face of the festival is German immigrant Wolf Blass. Performers will include Troy Cassar-Daley, Anthony Callea and Joe Dolce. The event involves 200 community groups, local and national arts groups, up to 70 diplomatic missions, numerous businesses and tens of thousands of people who attend over the three day festival.

Over the summer months, it has been my pleasure to speak at a number of multicultural functions in my electorate. In December, I attended the launch of the new premises for the National Ethnic Disability Alliance in the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre. I have also had the pleasure of speaking at the Karen New Year celebrations in Cook, and the Mon National Day celebrations in at Merici College in Braddon. Both the Karen and Mon communities have proud histories, yet continue to be repressed by the Burmese government. I particularly acknowledge the valuable work of Karen community leaders Nai Shin Thu, Ester Kyaw and Saw Tha Wah, and Mon community leaders Nai Tin Aye, Nai Pe Thein Zar, Nai Loka Chanmi and Hongsar Channaibanya.

Canberra is fortunate to have many champions of multiculturalism, including Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Senator Lundy, ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs Joy Burch, her director Nic Manikis, Kathy Ragless of Companion House, John Gunn of the ACT Multicultural Youth Services, and many others who work to resettle refugees, including Geoff McPherson, David Cran and Bevil Purnell.

Finally, I congratulate Sam Wong who was announced by the Prime Minister last month as one of only 40 ‘People of Australia Ambassadors’ for 2012. As an ambassador Sam will strengthen our capacity as a nation to bring people together and build bridges of understanding and respect.

There's been a lot of talk about productivity lately, so I figured it'd be worth doing a short video to talk about why it matters, and what the federal government is doing to boost productivity.

I spoke yesterday with ABC 666's Ross Solly. He was keen to talk about personalities, and I wanted to talk about issues. It was a fun conversation, and a link to the audio is below.

Talking Politics with Ross Solly - 6 Feb 2012

I was on ABC News Breakfast this morning, my first time on this particular program but with the familiar antagonist Kelly O'Dwyer. Topics included Australia's strong economy and the Coalition's plans to deny personal income tax cuts, but instead give them to big miners and big polluters.


http://www.youtube.com/embed/DtXyAWL-VMI

The Regional Development Australia committee for the ACT is looking for community volunteers.

The Hon Simon Crean MP
Federal Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development
and Local Government

Minister for the Arts Andrew Barr MLA
ACT Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer,
Minister for Economic Development
Tourism, Sport and Recreation

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Friday, 3 February, 2012

CALL FOR COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS TO REPRESENT THE ACT

Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean and Acting Chief Minister of the ACT Andrew Barr today called for community volunteers to represent the Regional Development Australia (RDA) committee in the ACT.

Individuals with community, industry or government experience and knowledge of local challenges are encouraged to submit an expression of interest to represent RDA ACT.

“The RDA committees are more than the eyes and ears for government,” Mr Crean said.

“Their input is central to our place-based approach because it will help us better respond to the challenges and opportunities different regions face and enable us to embed regionalism into the way we govern in a way that can't be unpicked.

“Strong RDA committees are engaging with local communities to maximise economic growth, flexibility, diversity and resilience.

“We are looking for individuals with vision and drive – people who can use their experience, skills and local regional knowledge to build relationships between all levels of government and regional communities.

“Members of our RDA committees have strong relationships with their communities and bring a deep understanding of local issues.

“They volunteer their time and energy and work tirelessly for their regions, and we are committed to ensuring they have the support and resources to do their job well.”

People of all backgrounds are encouraged to submit an expression of interest, which will be considered against the skills and expertise required by the RDA committee.

Previous applicants and existing members whose terms are expiring are also encouraged to submit a new expression of interest.

Mr Barr said the RDA committee plays an important role in advising government on regional development policy.

“I would like to encourage anyone with a strong interest in the future development of the ACT and surrounding region to submit an expression of interest,” Mr Barr said.

“RDA ACT provides an important interface with other surrounding RDAs to support the work of the ACT Government within the broader region."

RDA is an Australian Government initiative which is jointly funded by State and Territory Governments and local governments in some jurisdictions.

For more information on the RDA network, the Expression of Interest Handbook and an application form visit www.rda.gov.au

Additional information on the EoI process can be mailed to applicants, please contact 1800 505 938 (Mon–Fri 9am-5pm AEDST) or email rdaeoi<@>regional.gov.au

Applications for the Australian Capital Territory are encouraged by Friday 24 February 2012.

I appeared yesterday on Sky AM Agenda with host Kieran Gilbert and Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer. Our discussion focused on the strong Australian economy (inflation, interest rates, and income taxes are all lower than when Labor came to office in 2007), and the Gillard Government's commitment to equal pay.http://www.youtube.com/v/e63MEYCxK7M?version=3&hl=en_US

Along with Gai Brodtmann and Kate Lundy, I've put out a statement today regarding a claim in the Canberra Times that the efficiency dividend will cost jobs. See also a piece that I wrote for the Canberra Times recently on the negative impact that the Liberals' promised 12,000 job cuts will have on Canberra.

MEDIA STATEMENT

1 February 2012



Gai Brodtmann MP
Federal Member for Canberra



Andrew Leigh MP
Federal Member for Fraser



Senator Kate Lundy
Senator for the Australian Capital Territory



PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS

The figures presented in the Canberra Times today are not correct.

The Government believes it is important the public service continues to play its part in delivering savings to the Budget given tight fiscal conditions.

The Government expects agencies to continue to meet the efficiency dividend without resorting to forced redundancies.

We know the Liberal Party likes to boast about sacking 12,000 workers:

"For a start, 12,000 public servants in Canberra will be made redundant over a two-year period immediately upon us being elected."
HOCKEY – Q&A – 27 JUNE 2011

However we expect agencies to create savings in areas including: reductions in the use of big consultancy firms and contractors; replacing travel with the use of virtual meeting facilities; reductions in agency spend on hospitality and entertainment; minimising media and advertising expenditure; reductions in printing and publication expenditure, and more efficient and consistent delivery of training.

The future figures for wages and salaries used by the Canberra Times do not account for new policies that may be agreed to by government in future budgets.  Adjusting for this would change the projections.

The figures also do not reflect the Government’s expectation that agencies meet the Efficiency Dividend from non-salary expenditure.  This means in future years the wage and salary figures are expected to increase at the expense of non-wage and salary departmental expenditure.

Unlike the Liberals, we believe that a strong public service is essential to support the community and deliver critical government programs.