Andrew Leigh

MEDIA RELEASE

APPOINTMENTS TO THE AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION TRIBUNAL

The Albanese Government has appointed Professor David Byrne, Associate Professor Katharine Kemp and Professor Flavio Menezes as part-time members of the Australian Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) for a five-year period.

Professor Byrne is a Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne. He undertakes empirical research in industrial organisation and behavioural economics, focusing on energy and resource markets. He was awarded the Young Economist Award by the Economic Society of Australia in 2023.

Associate Professor Kemp is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law and Justice at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney and leads the UNSW Public Interest Law and Tech Initiative. Her research focuses on competition, data privacy and consumer protection regulation. She has also practised as a commercial lawyer at Allens and as a barrister in Melbourne.

COMPETITION REFORM WILL ENSURE FLOURISHING FUTURE

Imagine a future where Australian shoppers buy their products at fair prices, businesses thrive on healthy competition, and our economy stands resilient against global challenges.

Recently, the federal and NSW treasurers and I took the first step toward this by releasing a consultation paper on revitalising National Competition Policy.

There is consensus that this is something worth doing and we're aiming for agreement by the end of the year.

AUSTRALIA SIGNS TAX TREATY WITH SLOVENIA

The Government has signed a new tax treaty with Slovenia, representing the first tax treaty between the two nations and a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship.

Once in force, the treaty will enhance trade and investment opportunities between Australia and Slovenia by creating a more favourable regulatory environment and producing new opportunities to enhance economic cooperation.

The treaty will give Australian businesses new opportunities to access Slovenian capital through reduced withholding tax rates.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC CANBERRA BREAKFAST WITH ADAM SHIRLEY
MONDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2024

SUBJECTS: Census 2026.

ADAM SHIRLEY (HOST): Well, as you might have heard, the Federal Government has determined to include at least a couple of questions about gender and sex identity in the forthcoming Census. This has come after weeks of argument, of 180 degree turns and then recommitments. The Federal Government, as part of its election platform at the last election, said it would commit to including these questions. Then, as you know, reportedly Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, he wanted to remove said questions to avoid, apparently, another culture war. And the ensuing cry from those in the community saying, we just want to be counted, we just want to be represented, has meant now the government has said, yes, we'll go ahead and do it.

Doctor Andrew Leigh is an Assistant Minister in the Albanese Government and has responsibility for the Census. I caught up with him minutes ago to ask him about this process.

So, a lot of people watching the way this played out quite publicly might have scratched their head and wondered, why did the Government seem to make this so difficult for itself? How straightforward, in the end, is it to include questions of gender and sexuality in the Census?

NEW TOPIC IN THE 2026 CENSUS

The Albanese Government is setting a new topic of ‘sexual orientation and gender’ for inclusion in the 2026 Census.

This will allow the Australian Bureau of Statistics to ask questions on sexual orientation and gender for the first time, in keeping with their recommendation to government.

These questions will only be asked of people aged 16 and over, and the ABS has told the Government that people will have the option not to answer.

EVIDENCE-BASED POLICING

Speech to ‘What Works in Policing for Community Safety and Our People’, the Global Evidence-Based Policing Conference 2024, Melbourne
Tuesday, 3 September

I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, the traditional owners of these lands, and pay respects to all First Nations people present.

I am chuffed to speak to such a distinguished group of practitioners and scholars in policing, from Australia and around the world. Special thanks to those who have travelled internationally to be here. You are integral to creating, developing, and implementing evidence-based approaches to policing

My thanks to David Cowan for the invitation to speak, and for the work he has been doing here in Australia to spearhead evidence-based policing, as Superintendent in charge of the Organised Crime Division by day, and President of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Evidence Based Policing by night.

David Cowan – like so many of you in this room – is a randomista. Not only is he seeking to run experiments, but to build support for long-term evidence-based policing in Australia, and around the world.

BUILDING A MORE CONNECTED COMMUNITY

Address at opening of Salesforce ‘Ohana Floors
Thursday, 29 August 2024

Thanks very much, Andrew. Like Uncle Charles, I'd like to acknowledge the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation on whose lands we meet today, to pay respects to all First Nations people present, and to acknowledge so much that the not-for-profits in the room do for supporting First Nations communities.

I started the day watching the sun rise on Maroubra beach this morning with a group called WNOW, founded by Tadgh Kennelly and David Eccles. It's a group that gets a bunch of blokes together on beaches to do a bit of exercise. We did our push ups and our burpees, and then circled up to talk about our mental wellbeing. Tadgh and Dave founded WNOW because they were worried about the epidemic of loneliness in Australia. They now have chapters spreading not only across Australia, but now around the world. It's just one example of the many extraordinary charities and not-for-profits helping shape Australia for the better.

When I took on the competition portfolio for Labor, a friend issued me a challenge: how many Australian industries can you name that are not dominated by a few big firms?

It’s a tough ask, and the problem has only gotten worse. The last couple of decades has seen a rise in market concentrated. There’s been an increase in price markups – the gap between firms’ costs and what they charge consumers. The lousy productivity growth of the 2010s is likely a key reason why real wage growth was so sluggish under the former federal government.

So what can we do about it? One of the key pillars of competition policy is merger law. It acts as the ‘preventive medicine’ of competition, analysing whether mergers will help or harm the economy.

I’m inviting applications for a Canberra-based media / communications assistant.

I have a broad range of ways I engage on policy issues, from op-eds and interviews to social media, tele townhalls, podcasts, and public events.

My media person helps draft and coordinate those ideas. This involves drafting media releases, and op-eds, liaising with journalists, feeding social media and working with the wider Labor team. The hours can exceed a nine to five workday and can be unpredictable, so the position includes an allowance to compensate for those additional hours.

As Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury & Employment, as well as Member for Fenner, the issues that I engage on range from economic inequality to building community. An appreciation for economics, a love of words and a passion for Canberra are definite pluses.

Some travelling, with an occasional overnight stay, may be required.

In the late-1990s, prior to entering politics, I worked as a policy and media adviser for Senator Peter Cook. So I am open to applicants with a range of skills. If you’ve worked in the media or in the parliamentary environment, great. But if you’ve simply got a keen interest in the media and good policy, then please don’t hesitate to apply.