Andrew Leigh

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP

ROCKHAMPTON

MONDAY, 4 APRIL 2016

SUBJECT/S: Labor’s positive plans for Rockhampton, effects test and competition policy, Malcolm Turnbull’s second-rate National Broadband Network, fair schools and education funding, North Queensland Taskforce

LEISA NEATON, CANDIDATE FOR CAPRICORNIA: It's my pleasure today to be hosting Andrew Leigh, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer here in Rockhampton and also Senator McLucas from Northern Queensland. We're talking to local businesses and groups and we're having a roundtable about priorities for growth and development here in Central Queensland so I'll hand over to Andrew.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Thanks very much, Leisa. Leisa is a great Labor candidate for the seat of Capricornia. We're here talking with local businesses in the community sector about making sure that Rockhampton thrives, about making sure that we reduce the gap between rich and poor which we've seen rising too much in Australia. Malcolm Turnbull has always got a plan for helping out multinationals; rarely does he have a plan for making sure we have strong Medicare, the social supports that Australians need and well-funded schools and hospitals. Labor is particularly concerned about Malcolm Turnbull's wacky plans on competition. Outsourcing competition policy to Barnaby Joyce with an effects test that might see prices rise. We've already had the head of Coles warning that effects tests could see the end of uniform pricing meaning that groceries currently priced the same in Rockhampton as they are in Toorak could well be more expensive in regional Australia. With Leisa you've got a candidate who will fight for cost of living who is going to work on long-term policies like making sure we have fast and affordable broadband in Rockhampton, making sure we've got a strong mining and agricultural industry, making sure that our kids have the education they need for the jobs of the future. We're happy to take questions.

ANDREW LEIGH MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER
SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION
MEMBER FOR FRASER
 
CLARE O’NEIL MP

MEMBER FOR HOTHAM

JULIAN HILL
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR BRUCE

NO RELIEF FOR SOUTH-EAST MELBOURNE CHARITIES

Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh, Member for Hotham Clare O’Neil and Labor Candidate for Bruce Julian Hill visited South East Community Links today and saw firsthand the incredible work the organisation does in supporting the community, from employment, financial and counselling services, to assisting refugees and newly arrived migrants.

Andrew Leigh said “Labor is a friend of the sector. We have spent the past three years defending the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) from ideologues in the Abbott-Turnbull Government who set out to kill it. Under previous social services ministers Kevin Andrews and Scott Morrison, the government made scrapping the charities commission part of its so-called "red tape repeal" agenda”.

The Coalition belatedly bowed to public pressure and dropped its plans to abolish the Charities Commission, giving organisations like South East Community Links the opportunity to spend less time doing paperwork, and more time helping residents of South East Melbourne.

ANDREW LEIGH MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER
SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION
MEMBER FOR FRASER
 
PAT O’NEILL
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR BRISBANE

EXPENSIVE EFFECTS FOR BRISBANE CONSUMERS UNDER THE LNP

At the same time as talking up a tax cut for big businesses, the Turnbull Government has committed to introducing an ‘effects test’ that will raise prices on everyday groceries such as bread and milk.

Having just backed down on the GST, the Government has moved to implement another policy that will see consumers pay more.

We know already the Deputy Prime Minister believes the “proper price” of milk is anywhere up to $11 a litre.

Labor has consistently opposed the effects test as it will have a chilling effect on competition. Companies fear that under an effects test, engaging in legitimate competitive conduct such as selling cheap bread and milk could land them in court.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TV INTERVIEW

ABC NEWS BREAKFAST

THURSDAY, 31 MARCH 2016

SUBJECT/S: Malcolm Turnbull’s crazy plan for state income taxes; Labor’s savings proposals; protecting hospitals from the Coalition’s $57 billion in funding cuts; saving Medicare

 
DEL IRANI, PRESENTER: Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and joins us now. Good morning, Andrew Leigh.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning, Del.

IRANI: What is Labor's view on this proposal by the Government to make those changes to income tax essentially allowing the states to set their own rates in the long term?

LEIGH: Our view, Del, is it is unfair and unnecessary. It is odd when Scott Morrison was talking about the dangers of bracket creep a couple of weeks ago no-one realised that the thing he actually thought with bracket creep was that it wasn't happening fast enough. This is a case of bracket jump, in which Australians would be pushed up into higher tax brackets, a fact which the Treasurer seemed unaware of yesterday until the Prime Minister corrected him on it. In which you'd end up with a whole lot of different tax rates right across the country.

IRANI: Yes, but rising costs in the health care system are an ongoing issue. Do you agree that a radical change is required?

LEIGH: Certainly Australian hospitals are struggling to cope with the $57 billion that the Coalition has pulled out of those hospitals since it came to office. The impact of that showed up in the Australian Medical Association's Public Hospital Report Card which showed that waiting times for elective surgery and emergencies have already begun blowing out. We do need to do something about that. The question is whether the solution is a fair one, such as the $100 billion of savings that Labor has put on the table, or whether it is another wacky thought balloon being floated by the clown show that seems to be masquerading as a government at the moment.

ANDREW LEIGH MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER
SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION
MEMBER FOR FRASER

SOPHIE ISMAIL 
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR MELBOURNE

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
VICTORIAN PARLIAMENT HOUSE
TUESDAY, 22 MARCH 2016

SUBJECT/S: Marriage equality, Labor’s positive plans for an egalitarian Melbourne

SOPHIE ISMAIL, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR MELBOURNE: It's an absolute pleasure to be here today in Melbourne with the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh who has done a lot of very important work on inequality and who is here is here to talk to us today about marriage equality and the damaging plebiscite. 

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Thanks very much Sophie. Sophie is a great Labor candidate for the seat of Melbourne who is working extremely hard to make sure that we improve the fairness of our society for Melbournians and for all Australians. Now that Adam Bandt has been the Member for Melbourne for nearly six years, many Melbournians who care about equality will be asking themselves "What has Adam Bandt actually done to create a fairer Melbourne?"

Labor has long been passionate about inequality. Through Jenny Macklin's recent report Growing Together and through Bill Shorten's many statements on inequality, we have highlighted Labor's positive ideas for building a fairer Australia. We are committed to making sure that our schools and our hospitals are appropriately funded; that our tax system is fair and that we pare back some of the unfair and unsustainable tax concessions. We want to make sure young Australians find their way into the housing market. We want to make sure that we have got penalty rates that recognise that working unsociable hours should be fairly compensated.

LABOR’S PLAN FOR THE SHARING ECONOMY IN MELBOURNE

 
Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh and Victorian Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis have today visited Carhood to discuss Labor’s positive plan for the sharing economy.
 
They met with founder Steve Johnson to talk about creating a fair and flexible framework of rules for emerging services like Carhood to ensure all Australians can share in the benefits.
 
The sharing economy is changing the way we buy and sell things. It is also changing how we think about work and the line between private property and public goods. Australians are clearly embracing these services. Carhood has 5,000 members and is growing at 70% month on month, while around one in 200 Australian homes now listed on AirBNB.
 
Prime Minister Turnbull has failed to address the many sided challenges and opportunities of appropriately regulating the sharing economy which still suffers from a regulatory lag.
 
That’s why Labor has announced a set of National Sharing Economy Principles and indicated we will work with state and territory governments to turn these into concrete rules and regulations.
 
Federal Labor’s principles are:

Projects help strengthen community 

The Chronicle 

29 March 2016

In last month's column, I talked about the evidence that Australians have become increasingly disconnected, and the need to encourage more community engagement.

Like most Canberrans, I believe it's vital that we're honest about what the data are telling us, but optimistic about our ability to turn things around.

Many people wrote to me with stories of their organisations. Today, I'll share three of them with you.

Sam McKeon wrote of volunteering for Computing Assistance Support & Education (case.org.au).

By providing computer support for community organisations, CASE allows them to devote more of their resources to service provision. Sam also pointed out that it's a better way of using volunteers: "The existence of CASE meant I could take my natural interest (web development) and apply it in a volunteer context. A targeted approach let me be more effective (rather than door-knocking for money, for example) and this encouraged me."

Consumers Must Come First, Daily Telegraph, 25 March 2016

There are two kinds of supermarket shoppers: those who read the prices on the shelves, and those who can afford to ignore them.

If you disregard the dollar signs and skip the specials, feel free to stop reading now. But for the rest of us, the government’s latest decision is a real worry.

When it comes to keeping prices low, smart competition laws are one of the best tools that governments have. However, competition laws are only smart if they’re ferociously pro-consumer. Competition isn’t about protecting lousy firms – it’s about making sure we get the best deal for shoppers.

THE EFFECTS TEST WILL INCREASE PRICES: COLES

“I cannot get an answer… on whether we will be able to sell bread, beans and nappies for the same price in regional Australia as in Toorak”

JOHN DURKAN, COLES MANAGING DIRECTOR – 24 MARCH 2016

Less than a week after Barnaby Joyce claimed the “proper price” of milk was anywhere up to $11 a litre, we see yet another warning that the Government’s dangerous effects test policy will raise prices on everyday groceries.

The effects test will have a chilling effect on the competitive process.

Businesses will fear that by engaging in legitimate competitive conduct – such as selling cheap bread, beans or nappies in regional areas – they will be taken to court.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP

PARLIAMENT HOUSE

TUESDAY, 22 MARCH 2016

 SUBJECT/S: Malcolm Turnbull’s election stunt, tax transparency, tax reform, negative gearing

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Thanks very much for coming along. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer. We learned today, thanks to the release of data from the Australian Taxation Office, that one in three big private Australian firms are paying no tax. One in three of Australia's biggest private firms didn't contribute a brass razoo to the running of our schools and our hospitals. This comes following the release of information last December showing that when it comes to big public firms, one in four are paying no tax.