Andrew Leigh

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH TOM CONNELL
FRIDAY, 17 APRIL 2026

SUBJECTS: Coalition xenophobia; Labor helping consumers; Budget speculation

TOM CONNELL: Immigration has become a big political talking point in Australia. It's soared, of course. Post-COVID, Labor has been paring it back. The Coalition says not enough. It has released, well, part of its policy earlier in the week. Joining me now, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury. Few titles in there. Not immigration, but he's written a piece about it, so I'll ask him anyway. It's Andrew Leigh. Thank you for your time.

ANDREW LEIGH: Pleasure Tom.

TOM CONNELL: So you've taken an issue with the Opposition on migration. I mean, they want to cut – Labor itself has been saying it really needs to reduce it though, so it's not. You're both on the same side in one sense. Immigration has been too high, it's just how much it's been too high?

ANDREW LEIGH: As you said Tom, we've pared back the numbers but we haven't done that by demonising migrants. And the Coalition traditionally has been a party that has supported openness, right through from Menzies to Turnbull. But we've seen with this speech from Matt Canavan last week praising tariffs and the one from Angus Taylor this week walking away from the bipartisan commitment to a non-discriminatory immigration policy a Coalition that seems to think that Australia lacks the confidence to engage with the world. That doesn't realise that tariffs are just a tax on consumers and doesn't recognise that migrants are out there building the houses that Australia needs.

TOM CONNELL: Does it make sense that permanent residents should learn English?

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Taylor and Canavan united on closing door on open economy

Published in The Australian Financial Review

16 April 2026

Australia has always done best when we have looked outward with confidence rather than inward with fear.

That is why the recent attacks on trade and migration from Matt Canavan and Angus Taylor are so misguided. The National and Liberal leaders are trying to turn real pressure on households into an argument for retreat. Both are offering the same populist manoeuvre: pick an external force, blame it for domestic failures, and present withdrawal as strength.

Canavan does it with trade. Taylor does it with migration. Different target, same instinct. Shut the gate, raise the drawbridge, and imply Australia would somehow be better off with fewer connections to the world.

That is not a serious economic strategy. It is grievance dressed up as policy.

Start with trade. Canavan wants Australians to believe that a more protected economy would somehow be a more prosperous one. But tariffs are not a growth strategy. They are a tax. They raise prices for households and input costs for firms. They protect weak businesses while making life harder for the exporters, manufacturers and service providers that have to survive in world markets.

Australia has tried this before. It did not make us stronger. It made us sluggish and expensive. The bipartisan trade reforms of the 1980s and 1990s were not an act of national surrender. They were part of a broader modernisation that helped turn Australia into a bigger, more productive, more competitive and more dynamic economy. More open markets forced firms to lift their game, adopt better technology, charge fairer prices and find new customers. That is one reason living standards rose.

Along with technology, trade brings disruption. It reshapes workplaces, industries, jobs and communities. But the answer to change is not to pretend the clock can be turned back. It is to help workers move into new opportunities, back regions through periods of adjustment, and make sure the benefits of growth are more broadly shared. Nostalgia is not an industry policy.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Strengthening oversight of Australia’s insolvency system

16 April 2026

The Albanese Government has strengthened oversight of Australia’s insolvency system by approving a pool of 10 highly qualified experts that the Australian Financial Security Authority can appoint as part‑time members of Bankruptcy Trustee Registration and Disciplinary Committees.

The candidates will bolster the system that scrutinises bankruptcy trustees, with committees convened as needed to assess registration, conditions, suspension and disciplinary matters. The pool is designed to ensure cases are handled with deep expertise, faster turnaround, and robust independence.

The candidates bring extensive experience across insolvency and bankruptcy law, corporate and commercial law, taxation, accounting, public policy and consumer finance, drawn from academia, legal practice and regulatory roles.

The Hon Kristy McBain MP
Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories
Minister for Emergency Management

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Member for Fenner 

New pipeline secures water future for Jervis Bay Territory

09 April 2026

Residents of the Jervis Bay Territory, including members of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community, will benefit from a more reliable and secure drinking water supply, with construction of the new water pipeline connecting the Territory to the Shoalhaven water network complete.

The milestone marks the completion of a major Albanese Government infrastructure project designed to strengthen essential services and improve long-term water security for the community.

The new pipeline links the reservoir at Vincentia with the Stone Creek Reservoir in the neighbouring Jervis Bay Territory, providing residents and visitors with a modern and dependable source of drinking water.

Funded through a $15.8 million Albanese Government investment, the project included the installation of about 11 kilometres of pipeline as well as upgrades to supporting infrastructure at both reservoirs.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC RADIO CANBERRA, WITH ROD HENSHAW
WEDNESDAY, 8 APRIL 2026

SUBJECTS: Fuel supply; ACCC

ROD HENSHAW: Well, the price of oil looks like it’s falling. In fact, it has fallen today. How long that takes to get to the bowsers is anybody's answer – or anybody's question. But as that price does come down, some questions have been raised about how we can be sure the savings will be passed on to the consumer. Andrew Leigh is Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury. Andrew, good afternoon. Thanks so much for your time.

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

ROD HENSHAW: Why do, or how do we make sure the petrol prices fall as the price of oil does? Because we're told by your colleague, Chris Bowen, that we've got about 39 days in reserve, or whatever it is, around about 30. Now, that would give plenty of time for a shipment to come from through the Strait of Hormuz, to Australia. So, we shouldn't run out if everything goes hunky dory with the ceasefire. So, we really shouldn't be paying too much more should we?

ANDREW LEIGH: So, what we've done is cut the fuel excise and then consult with the states and territories. We've also allowed them to pass on the savings from the GST, so that…

ROD HENSHAW: Which is all good.

ANDREW LEIGH: Yes, absolutely. And so that's direct relief being provided primarily by the federal government, but also with the assistance of the ACT Government. We've been tasking the ACCC with… sorry Rod, I'm just getting quite a bit of feedback on your line.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Clicking ‘no, thanks’ on dodgy web subscription traps

Published in The Daily Telegraph

7 April 2026

Australians know the feeling.

You spot a ticket at a decent price. By the final screen, extra charges have multiplied like rabbits in a veggie patch. You sign up for a free trial in under a minute, then spend your lunch break hunting for the cancel button. You shop online and a flashing countdown clock acts as though civilisation will collapse unless you click “buy now”.

It is annoying. It is exhausting. And it is becoming far too common.

That is why the Australian Government is acting on unfair trading practices.

The idea is simple. When consumers buy something, we deserve a fair shot at making a clear choice.

This is about fairness. It is also about competition.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Towards a New Architecture for First Nations Philanthropy

The Inaugural Blak Loungeroom National Philanthropy Conference,
Online Address

Tuesday, 7 April 2026

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which you are meeting, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, and I pay my respects to Elders past and present.

My thanks to the Barmal Bijiril Foundation, and especially to John Harding and Tara Newen, for bringing this gathering together.

The Blak Loungeroom is a landmark event for the Barmal Bijiril Foundation. It brings together more than 100 participants from, philanthropy, business, the Arts, academia and the student community. A meaningful occasion for the sector and for Indigenous-led philanthropy.

This conference has also been shaped by a clear national conversation. The Productivity Commission’s Future Foundations for Giving report recognised the value of stronger pathways between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the philanthropic sector. It recommended an independent body, controlled by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, to improve access to philanthropic capital and support economic empowerment for First Nations communities.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Gas, Climate Change and Multinational Taxation

Matters of Public Importance 

House of Representatives

Tuesday, 31 March 2026

At the outset, I'd like to thank the Member for Mackellar for bringing this important debate in the matter of public importance. Gas constitutes about a quarter of Australia's energy needs, according to the Future Gas Strategy, and it has an important role as a bridging fuel in the carbon transition. It's heavily used in manufacturing; cement, bricks, glass products, fertiliser and EV batteries all depend on a reliable and affordable supply of gas. Australia exports around three quarters of our gas, which plays a role in the energy transition and in countries to our north.

As the Future Gas Strategy notes, Australia can't reach our 2050 net zero targets without reducing and decarbonising our consumption of natural gas. The Future Gas Strategy notes that that will occur through increased electrification of processes that currently use natural gas, replacing natural gas with low-emissions gases and converting remaining emissions from natural gas to be fully offset.

But the Future Gas Strategy also notes the role that gas plays in supporting our economy through the transition to net zero. Gas operates as a backstop for renewables, it's fast ramping and dispatchable, and it can complement variable renewable sources of power. California and Germany are just two examples of economies which have seen coal exiting, renewables expanding and gas supporting that transition. Gas does emit CO2, but 40 to 60 per cent less per unit of electricity than coal. Gas also supports hard-to-abate industries, like steel, cement, chemicals, and ammonia and hydrogen production. It can help households and firms as we make that clean energy transition. While batteries and pumped hydro, the so-called wet batteries, are increasing, they are still costlier, and gas has a bridging role to play.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Bulk-Billing

Constituency Statements 

Federation Chamber

Tuesday, 31 March 2026

Bulk-billing is at the very heart of Medicare. Labor created Medicare, and Labor stands by the principle that when you go to the doctor, you should only need your Medicare card, not your credit card. And that is why, after seeing bulk-billing rates in freefall under the former government, with Peter Dutton as health minister, we have made a record investment in Medicare. Labor has increased the bulk-billing rebates for individuals and the bulk-billing rebates for practices. We have made a historic investment in bulk-billing, with the target of seeing nine out of 10 doctor's visits bulk-billed by 2030.

In the ACT, which, historically, has had a lower rate of bulk-billing than every state and territory, we have put in place additional incentives. I was really pleased to join my ACT colleagues, Senator Katy Gallagher and the Members for Bean and Canberra, Dave Smith and Alicia Payne, in Tuggeranong last week for the announcement of the opening of a new clinic, Next Practice Deakin, putting in place a purely bulk-billing practice. This is part of three new bulk-billing clinics which the federal government is funding with $10.5 million in bulk-billing GP attraction initiatives.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Banning Unfair Trading Practices - Second Reading Speech

Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026

House of Representatives

Wednesday, 1 April 2026

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026 amends the Australian Consumer Law and implements the government's commitment to protect consumers from unfair trading practices, subscription traps and drip pricing.

Australians know exactly what this bill is about because they have lived it. Trying to decide on an online purchase, they suddenly find themselves pressured with a countdown timer or a warning that there are 'only two left in stock', despite the fact that the retailer has plenty available. They subscribe to a gym and manage the payment online, but, when they try to unsubscribe, they are told they have to make a phone call. They spot a bargain online, but when they get to the check-out they discover a compulsory 'service fee' added to their basket. This isn't vigorous competition. It is friction by design.

The way Australians buy and subscribe has changed profoundly. Today, people make decisions about goods and services in many different ways: by strolling the aisles of their local stores, by searching online for the best price or by entering subscription arrangements that renew automatically. Some transactions take place entirely in person, while others occur entirely online, but the experience of choosing and managing services now spans a wide range of channels.