Radio 2CC Interview - Transcript - 28 January 2025
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RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
Topics: Australia Day; International Holocaust Remembrance Day; Middle East Conflict
28 JANUARY 2025
Stephen Cenatiempo, Host: Time to talk federal politics with the member for Fenner, the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh. Andrew, good morning, Stephen.
Andrew Leigh: Great to be with you.
Cenatiempo: Is this the first?
Leigh: No.
Cenatiempo: We've spoken this year already, haven't we?
Leigh: We have indeed, yeah.
Cenatiempo: Okay, well, hoping. Yeah.
Leigh: I love summer so much. I don't mind saying Happy New Year a few times.
Cenatiempo: No problem. Let's talk about Australia Day first. The Australia Day long weekend. What did you get up to?
Leigh: So, I was out and about in the community, including an event with the Muslim community and an event with the Jewish community. It really speaks to Canberra's multiculturalism that both of those communities had events. The one yesterday in particular, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, was part of the announcement of a National Holocaust Remembrance Centre, which will be located in Forrest, near the heart of the parliamentary triangle. That's really important because on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we need to remember the horrors of the Holocaust and keep on reminding successive generations. We can't take it for granted that young Australians will know the stories of what was done in World War II. Reeducating each generation is an important legacy that we hand on to those who follow.
Read moreABC Radio 666 - Radio Interview - Transcript - 24 January 2025
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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO | 666 CANBERRA WITH ROSS SOLLY
Subjects: Australia Day; Investing in our Apprentices; Mobile broadcasting units to backup ABC radio during natural disaster and power outages
24 JANUARY 2025
Ross Solly, Host: Yeah, you're with Ross Solly. Kate Medina, as I said, will be in with us very soon. Andrew Leigh joins us. He is the member for Fenner, of course. He is out today, out and about. He's in Gungahlin because the Federal Government has been unveiling this mobile broadcasting system. It's basically a system which is set up to back up local radio during natural disasters and power outages. Now, as part of the programme, they're going to build five or fund five mobile broadcast assets and one of them is going to be located in Gungahlin, and it's going to be serving a wide part of the region around here. Andrew Leigh joins us this morning. Good morning to you, Andrew Leigh.
Andrew Leigh: Good morning, Ross. Great to be with you.
Solly: And with you as well. Look, before we talk about that, Andrew Leigh, a couple of other quick issues. Are you surprised that majority of Australians now, according to the Sydney Morning Herald poll, would like to see Australia day remain on the 26th of January? Or do you think that reflects where we are as a nation right now?
Leigh: Look, I think that reflects where we are and certainly that's the government's position, that Australia Day should stay on the 26th of January. Our focus is on issues such as getting more apprentices, getting more homes built, ensuring that people have the support they need as they deal with the global inflation challenge. They're the big priorities for the government right now.
Solly: Yeah. Do you think it's still as divisive an issue as it once was?
Leigh: It's an annual issue. It comes up every year. I was elected in 2010 and I don't think there's been an Australia Day where there hasn't been that conversation about the date. So, that's a hardy perennial, but certainly the government's focus right now is on making sure that we help people as much as we can, that we're building a more prosperous and egalitarian Australia.
Read moreArticle - Shipping Australia Limited Annual Review - 20 January 2025
COMPETITIVE SEAS AHEAD
Shipping Australia Limited Annual Review
20 January 2025
The Albanese government recognises that the economic performance of Australia’s maritime logistics is critical to sustaining the nation’s trade and prosperity. As global trade continues to expand, competition in the container shipping industry has become a vital topic, and ensuring efficiency and affordability in this sector is high on the government’s agenda. With the shipping industry handling approximately 99 percent of Australia's trade by volume, this sector is essential for both the national economy and consumers.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, causing disruptions and highlighting the impact that container shipping has on daily life. As ports became congested, shipping prices soared, and product shortages became more apparent. These disruptions affected businesses and consumers alike, underlining the need for stronger competition, regulatory oversight, and modernising Australia’s ports.
Read moreFenner Stronger Communities Program Round 9
Expressions of Interest for the Stronger Communities Programme Round 9 are now open for organisations based in Fenner.
The program supports the Australian Government’s commitment to deliver social benefits in communities across Australia and is part of its 2024-25 Budget initiatives.
Grants of between $2,500 and $20,000 are available for infrastructure projects that are aimed at delivering social benefit to the community. The total cost of your project must be below $50,000.
Grant funding will be up to 100% of eligible project costs except for local governing bodies where grant funding will be up to 50% of eligible project costs.
More information on the eligibility criteria can be found in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines.
If you are interested in submitting an expression of interest, please fill out the Expression of Interest Form by 16 February 2025.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my office at 02 6247 4396 or [email protected], and my team will be happy to assist.
Transcript - ABC Radio Victoria Interview - Right to Repair - 20 January 2025
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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO | RURAL REPORT VICTORIA WITH ANGUS VERLEY
Topic: Right to Repair; John Deere sued by FTC
20 JANUARY 2025
Angus Verley, Host: John Deere is being sued in the United States by the Federal Trade Commission. It alleges John Deere has restricted the ability of farmers and independent technicians to repair equipment such as tractors and combines. Olivia Saunders spoke to the Assistant Minister for Competition, Andrew Leigh, about what the legal action means.
Andrew Leigh: We know this is a billion-dollar industry and it involves some pretty complicated machinery. John Deere now has more software engineers than mechanical design engineers, which really tells you something about the level of IT that's in modern farm machinery. What we've done is to champion right to repair in the area of motor vehicles, where it was really important for independent repairers. And we've encouraged in the agricultural sector, the National Farmers Federation and the peak body representing the dealers who produce the material to come to a voluntary arrangement to share information. We do recognise that growing an independent repair sector is something that many farmers would benefit from. We've been encouraging those in the industry to come to an arrangement that would make that happen.
Read moreArticle - The SMH and The AGE - 18 January 2025
The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, and Treasury
Assistant Minister for Employment
ARTICLE
THINK THAT LIFE IS UNFAIR AND GETTING WORSE? THIS WILL SURPRISE YOU
Over the past decade, the discussion of inequality in Australian politics has reached unprecedented levels.
This isn't just because the income share of the top 1 per cent has grown; it's also because inequality tugs at our sense of fairness. Inequality isn't just about economics; it's also about what's right.
In a breezy 119 pages, Equality: What it Means and Why it Matters is an edited conversation between Thomas Piketty, one of the leading economists working on inequality, and Michael Sandel, a political philosopher whose course ‘‘Justice'' has for many years been Harvard's most popular undergraduate class.
One of Piketty's most powerful points is that inequality is not inevitable. He points to Sweden, whose strong social safety net has delivered a high degree of gender equity and social mobility.
Read moreRadio 2CC Interview - Transcript - 14 January 2025
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RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
Topic: Labor delivering faster and more reliable NBN speeds for 100,000 Canberrans; Making multinationals pay their fair share
14 JANUARY 2025
Stephen Cenatiempo, Host: The Prime Minister said yesterday we came up with the plan, the NBN is ours and only will keep it in public hands. When Labor's plan was, as I said, to sell it and privatise it within five years, well that didn't happen. And we're supposed to forget all of that. Let's get talking. Canberra who am I? Joining us is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury and the member for Fenner, Andrew Leigh. Andrew, good morning.
Stephen Leigh: Morning Stephen, how are you?
Cenatiempo: Very well. Happy New Year. Look, this is, this is a great.
Leigh: Good to be with you. Happy New Year,
Cenatiempo: This is a ridiculous scare campaign. I mean the whole privatisation arm, Labor's plan was to privatise this thing at the beginning, at the very outset.
Read moreLabor is delivering faster and more reliable NBN speeds for 100,000 more Canberrans - Joint Media Release
SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER
Minister for Finance
Senator for The Australian Capital Territory
THE HONE MICHELLE ROWLAND MP
Minister for Communications
THE HON ANDREW LEIGH MP
Member for Fenner
ALICIA PAYNE MP
Member for Canberra
DAVID SMITH MP
Member for Bean
MEDIA RELEASE
LABOR IS DELIVERING FASTER AND MORE RELIABLE NBN SPEEDS FOR 100,000 MORE CANBERRANS
Canberrans will benefit from a major upgrade to the National Broadband Network (NBN), with almost 100,000 premises across the ACT set to get access to faster, more reliable full-fibre internet connections.
The significant investment from the Albanese Labor Government will mean even more ACT homes and businesses will have access to full-fibre connections, upgrading from the current copper based fibre-to-the node (FTTN) networks.
In the ACT, this will deliver improved speeds and less interruptions to an additional 97,000 homes and businesses and by December 2030, 94% of premises in the ACT will reach gigabit capability, doubling the number of premises that are currently gigabit capable.
Read moreRadio 2CC Interview with Leon Delaney - Transcript - 9 January 2025
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RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC WITH LEON DELANEY
Topic: Inflation; Retail Sales; Interest Rates; Why Labor are Better Economic Managers than the Coalition
9 JANUARY 2025
Leon Delaney, Host: Canberra, seven minutes past four. And yesterday we saw the latest inflation figures which came in. Well, it was a bit of a mixed bag really. We saw the headline inflation go up, but the underlying inflation go down. It is a little bit more complicated than that, but at best you'd have to say the Reserve Bank is currently receiving mixed messages from the economic data. Joining me now, the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Assistant Minister for Employment, professional economist, and our local member here in the Federal seat of Fenner, Dr. Andrew Leigh. Good afternoon.
Andrew Leigh: Good afternoon, Leon. Happy 2025. Did you know that 2025 is 45 squared?
Delaney: I did not know that.
Leigh: As a mathematics nerd, I thought you and your listeners would enjoy that fun fact. Hopefully you managed to get a good break.
Delaney: I know that now, 2025 is 45 squared. See, mathematics was never my strong subject. I managed to struggle through and achieve a pass mark. But I would never say I particularly enjoyed mathematics and I'm not that good at it. But these are interesting little novelty facts to know.
Leigh: Probably the only square year we will ever experience in our lifetimes.
Read moreABC Radio - Melbourne - Transcript - 9 January 2025
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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO MELBOURNE MORNINGS WITH JUSTIN SMITH
Topic: Inflation; Cost of Living Relief; Reserve Bank Independence; Supermarket Prices and Competition Reform
9 JANUARY 2025
Justin Smith, Host: 9 from 10. So, as we said yesterday, we saw the inflation figures come through and it had a lovely 2 in front of it. It was a 2.3. The Treasurer Jim Chalmers sounded thrilled to bits at that point. But what is that going to mean for interest rate cuts possibly for next month? What is that going to mean? Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Treasury. He's good enough to join us on the phone. Mr. Leigh, thank you very much for your time.
Andrew Leigh: Pleasure Justin. Great to be with you.
Smith: In very real terms, when people hear that figure of 2.3 and as we said before, your boss seemed to be thrilled by this number, what does it mean for people? How does that translate to their lives?
Leigh: We do know we need to get on top of the inflation problem, and it shows that inflation is substantially down from the numbers that we inherited from the Liberals when they left office. When they left office inflation was 6 point something and rising. Now it's 2 point something and falling. So, we've got inflation down to almost a third of what it was we saw in some of the latest numbers. Automotive fuel coming down 10% over the course of the year, electricity coming down 21% over the course of the year. But that doesn't take away from the fact that people are under cost-of-living pressure, which is why we're doing all we can to put in place those energy bill rebates, the increases to Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the back-to-back surpluses that we delivered. All of that is helping take pressure off inflation.
Read more