ABC Radio - The Country Hour Victoria - Transcript - Labor's Mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO THE COUNTRY HOUR – VIC - WITH WARWICK LONG

Topic: Labor’s Mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct; Coalition’s Failure to Support Farmers

7 JANUARY 2025

Emma D'Agostino, Reporter: The Assistant Minister for Competition, Andrew Leigh, defended the government.

Andrew Leigh: When Labor came to office, we had this problem that the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct was a voluntary code. It was essentially toothless, without penalties. So, we set about getting it reviewed by Craig Emerson, the former competition Minister, and turning it into a mandatory code. The coalition under David Littleproud as Agriculture Minister, had decided to keep it voluntary. And indeed, when we brought our legislation for a mandatory Food and Grocery Code with multimillion dollar penalties to the Parliament, it ended up that the coalition voted against that.

I thought that was a real pity because it was an opportunity for bipartisanship on this important reform. Under Labor, the Food and Grocery Code now has multimillion dollar penalties. It has an anonymous complaints mechanism. It has the highest corporate penalties under any industry code and that'll reset the relationship between supermarkets and farmers. But I understand that many farmers still feel under pressure and that's certainly a legacy of the way in which this relationship was managed under the former coalition government.

D'Agostino: David Littleproud doesn't seem to think that these measures go far enough. Is that a fair comment?

Leigh: When we brought this to the Parliament last year, David Littleproud voted no. He had a chance to vote for farmers. Instead, he voted to keep the status quo. He voted for big supermarkets. What we have as part of this new code of conduct is penalties which are the greater of $10 million, three times the value of the benefit or 10% of turnover. And for multi-billion-dollar firms that means massive penalties. These penalties were not supported by the Liberals, and they were not supported by the Nationals when they came into Parliament.

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Implementing a minimum tax for multinationals-Media Release

The Hon Jim Chalmers MP

Treasurer

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP

Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury

Assistant Minister for Employment

MEDIA RELEASE

MONDAY, 23 DECEMBER 2024

IMPLEMENTING A MINIMUM TAX FOR MULTINATIONALS

The Albanese Government is continuing to take action so that multinationals pay their fair share of tax in Australia.

Today the Government has published subordinate legislation in the form of Ministerial Rules as part of Australia’s implementation of a 15 per cent global minimum tax and domestic minimum tax for large multinationals.

To pay for the things that matter most to Australians like Medicare, pensions and housing, it’s important that multinationals operating in Australia pay their fair share of tax and that’s what these Rules help achieve.

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New tool to streamline and better coordinate financial sector regulation - Media Release

New tool to streamline and better coordinate financial sector regulation

Joint media release with
The Hon Jim Chalmers MP
Treasurer

The Hon Stephen Jones MP
Assistant Treasurer
Minister for Financial Services

The Albanese Government has today released a new tool to better streamline and coordinate regulation in the financial sector to help build a more competitive, dynamic and productive economy.

We want to make it simpler and easier to do business in Australia and that’s what our new Regulatory Initiatives Grid (RIG) will help achieve in the financial services sector.

It complements our other efforts to better target regulation across the economy, including through the biggest overhaul to merger settings in 50 years and our changes to strengthen and streamline the foreign investment regime.

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World-first data asset to improve outcomes for people with Disability - Media Release

The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP
Minister for Social Services
Member for Kingston

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury
Assistant Minister for Employment
Member for Fenner

MEDIA RELEASE

THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2024

World-first data asset to improve outcomes for people with disability

Australia will now have a clearer research picture of people with disability aimed at improving their life outcomes, with the release of the first data from the National Disability Data Asset between Commonwealth, state and territory governments.

The NDDA is a world first, co-governed asset that has for the first time, linked de-identified data in a way that has people with disability as its core focus.

It is one of the major innovations of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031 and will play a key role in helping to measure how policies and programs are delivering better outcomes over time.

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Public Country by Country Reporting Jurisdictions settled - Media Release - 17 December 2024

MEDIA RELEASE

17 December 2024

PUBLIC COUNTRY BY COUNTRY REPORTING JURISDICTIONS NOW SETTLED

Today, the Albanese Government’s determination of specified jurisdictions for Australia’s world leading Public Country by Country tax transparency regime has been published on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Primary legislation to put in place a Public Country by Country reporting register passed Parliament on 29 November. That legislation set out the annual tax data that affected entities will be required to report from 1 July 2024. The Taxation Administration (Country by Country Reporting Jurisdictions) Determination 2024, registered today, sets out the jurisdictions for which an entity must publish disaggregated (country-level) information.    

With this determination in place, the government has delivered on our election commitment to increase tax transparency and added momentum to global campaigns to increase corporate accountability for tax strategies.

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Mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct established in law-Media Release

Julie Collins MP

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Minister for Small Business

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP

Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, and Treasury
Assistant Minister for Employment

MEDIA RELEASE

17 December 2024 

Mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct established in law 

The Albanese Labor Government has made the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory, protecting farmers and everyday Australians at the supermarket checkout. 

The mandatory code has now been signed by the Governor General and published on the Federal Register of Legislation. The new mandatory code will come into force on 1 April 2025, replacing the voluntary code. 

This will protect suppliers and farmers and improve supermarket conduct with heavy penalties for breaches of the code. 

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ACCC Federal Court action against NDIS and Aged Care provider - Media Release - 14 December 2024

The Hon Bill Shorten MP

Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Minister for Government Services

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP

Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, and Treasury

Assistant Minister for Employment

ACCC FEDERAL COURT ACTION AGAINST NDIS AND AGED CARE PROVIDER WELCOMED

14 December 2024

The Minister for the NDIS the Hon Bill Shorten MP and Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Dr Andrew Leigh MP today welcomed strong action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to address allegations of false and misleading conduct by an Aged Care and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider, Ausnew Home Care Service Pty Ltd. 

This action is proof of the success of the ongoing collaboration between the ACCC, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission), and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to drive positive outcomes that safeguard NDIS participants in the Scheme and stamp out poor behaviour by providers.

Minister Shorten said the commencement of civil proceedings in the Federal Court against Ausnew Home Care Service sends a strong message to any provider who falsely claims their products are ‘NDIS approved’ or misleads NDIS participants about the price of products.  

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Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh - Article - The Saturday paper - 14 December 2024

When a coin toss saves lives

The Saturday Paper

14 December 2024

James Lind set about determining the most effective treatment for scurvy, a disease that was killing thousands of sailors around the world.

Lind selected 12 sailors suffering from scurvy and divided them into six pairs.

Each pair received a different treatment: cider; sulphuric acid; vinegar; seawater; a concoction of nutmeg, garlic and mustard; or two oranges and a lemon.

In less than a week, the pair who had received oranges and lemons each day were back on active duty, while the others languished.

Given that sulphuric acid was then the British Navy’s main treatment for scurvy, this was a crucial finding.

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Radio 2CC Interview - Transcript - 11 December 2024

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
RADIO 2CC INTERVIEW WITH LEON DELANEY

WEDNESDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2024

Subjects: Supermarket competition; Antisemitism; RBA decision on interest rates; Fit for Office competition

LEON DELANEY, HOST: Yesterday the people at CHOICE provided their quarterly report into supermarket prices to tell us what was revealed. The Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury and Employment, not to mention our very own local member here in the seat of Fenner, Dr Andrew Leigh, good afternoon.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon, Leon, great to be with you.

DELANEY: Thanks for joining us today. Are the supermarkets still taking us for a ride?

LEIGH: We're doing our very best to make sure that's not the case, Leon. Part of it is this   quarterly grocery price monitoring which puts more information in the hands of consumers and puts more competitive pressure on the supermarkets. Last parliamentary sittings we passed through Parliament the mandatory Food and Grocery Code that gets a fairer deal for farmers, pity the Coalition didn't vote for it, but it got through the Parliament all the same, and we're also giving more money to the Competition Watchdog to crack down on shrinkflation by enforcing the Unit Pricing Code. The latest results for the CHOICE price survey show again that Aldi is the cheapest supermarket, followed by Coles this time, followed by Woolworths and then IGA.

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Strength in Diversity: Celebrating Australia’s Charities- SPEECH - 10 December 2024

Strength in Diversity: Celebrating Australia’s Charities 

One ACNC all-staff meeting 

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
Melbourne

TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER 2024

Thank you for the generous introduction. It's wonderful to be with you today on the traditional land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I acknowledge their elders and recognise all First Nations people present.

It's a real pleasure to be here with Sue Woodward, your remarkable head, and also with Rob Heferen from the ATO joining us today.

The "One ACNC" motto really is apt for what we are doing today, bringing together that conversation between the Tax Office and the ACNC for the good of all Australians.

I was struck, looking at the 365 charities that you registered in November 2024, by the sheer breadth of Australia's community groups.

Looking through those names is a reminder of all the organisations that help Australians.

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Cnr Gungahlin Pl and Efkarpidis Street, Gungahlin ACT 2912 | 02 6247 4396 | [email protected] | Authorised by A. Leigh MP, Australian Labor Party (ACT Branch), Canberra.