Andrew Leigh

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, DRIVE WITH JAMES FINDLAY
TUESDAY, 20 JANUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: The Albanese Government’s Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism bills; Gun Law Reform; National Gun Buyback Scheme; Helping Australians get a fairer deal at the checkout; ACT aquatic facilities

JAMES FINDLAY: It's been a big day in politics again. Just a day of discussions and compromise really, for the hate speech laws that will pass Parliament – that's what's being reported. Let's get straight into it. Dr Andrew Leigh is the Member for Fenner and the Assistant Minister for Competition. Dr Leigh, we'll get to your call for consultation about supermarket competition in just a moment, because I know it's something that you want to chat about today, but what has the Government had to compromise with the hate speech bill to get the support from the Liberal Party today?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well James, we've stripped out the vilification component of these laws. It was specifically recommended by the Antisemitism Envoy, it was publicly supported by the Opposition at the time, but it's clear that the Opposition now won't support that in the Parliament, and so we've stripped out that part of the laws.

The rest of the laws have gone through the House today. They're with the Senate, and we're expecting to have them back in the House for a vote at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning.

JAMES FINDLAY: Okay, okay. So, Senate for amendments to the bill?

ANDREW LEIGH: Who knows what the Senate does.

JAMES FINDLAY: Who knows what the Senate does?

ANDREW LEIGH: I don't really speak Senate, that's Katy Gallagher's expertise. But I expect that both the legislation established and the national gun buy‑back scheme and the legislation which cracks down on hate, division, radicalisation, hate preachers and the like, those two bills will pass the Senate sometime today.

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

Putting Consumers First - Consultation On Price And Loyalty Program Transparency

20 January 2026

The Albanese Government is taking further steps to help Australians get a fairer deal at the checkout. When families have the right information in front of them, they can compare prices with confidence, make informed choices and save money.

Today we are releasing a consultation paper on new requirements for supermarkets to improve transparency about prices, promotions and loyalty programs. These proposals directly respond to recommendations from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Supermarkets Inquiry, which found that current pricing and promotional practices often make it too difficult for consumers to assess value for money.

We are seeking community and stakeholder views on proposals to require:

• all supermarkets, including remote stores, to publish prices in-store
• large supermarkets to publish prices online, ensure web-scraping technologies can be used by third parties like online comparison websites and apps, and display minimum information about promotions, supported by record-keeping requirements
• very large supermarkets to provide members with six-monthly information summaries for loyalty programs.

Condolence Speech
Bondi Beach Attack 

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

House of Representatives

Monday 19 January 

It is with deep sadness that I rise to speak on this condolence motion. The Bondi Beach shooting on the first day of Hanukkah was the worst attack on Jewish people in Australia, the deadliest terrorist attack in Australian history and the second deadliest mass shooting in Australian history. The 15 victims ranged in age from 10-year-old Matilda, daughter of Ukrainian migrants, to 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. I also acknowledge the other victims by speaking their names: Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris Gurman, Sofia Gurman, Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Boris Tetleroyd, Tania Tretiak and Tibor Weitzen.

That day also showed the strength of Australia. Four people confronted the gunmen; all were shot, and three were killed. Surf lifesavers ran to help victims under fire, reminiscent of those firefighters on September 11 who ran up the stairs as others were running down. They included Jackson Doolan, who was photographed running barefoot from Tamarama — over a mile away — carrying a heavy medical bag. It was an honour today to meet some of those surf lifesavers, and I thank the Member for Kingsford Smith for hosting them here today and giving us the opportunity to personally thank them for their work. Those who helped on the day were migrants, volunteers, public servants and passers-by. In a moment of darkness, they showed the very best of what our nation has to offer.

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH ROSS SOLLY
FRIDAY, 16 JANUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: Hate Speech Law Reform; Gun Laws; Recall of Parliament; Social Media Minimum Age

ROSS SOLLY: So, it will be a bit of a distraction for many from what is going up on the hill, because the federal Parliament is coming back early - coming back Monday and Tuesday, because they have these laws that they want to get through, clamping down on hate speech and also tightening up gun laws in Australia. It does look though, this morning, that it's going to be very difficult indeed for the government to get these laws through. We already knew that the Liberal and National Party were not in favour. The Greens yesterday said they definitely need some changes. David Pocock on this program less than an hour ago said that he has some very real worries with it and thinks there needs to be some reworking. So will the government rework the laws? Dr Andrew Leigh of course, the Member for Fenner - he joins us on the program. Dr Leigh, good morning to you and Happy New Year to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Happy New Year to you too Ross, great to be with you.

ROSS SOLLY: So, is there anyone out there who actually thinks it's a good idea to come back and try and rush this through in two days?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, the Coalition certainly believed that on the 18th of December when Sussan Ley put out a media release calling on us to recall Parliament before Christmas to implement laws which would crack down on antisemitism.

ROSS SOLLY: But they didn't say do it in two days, did they? I mean, they did say come back, let's discuss it?

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
TUESDAY, 13 JANUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: Combatting Antisemitism; Hate and Extremism Bill; National Gun Buyback Scheme; Gun Law Reforms; Supermarket Price Gouging

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and the Member for Fenner, Andrew Leigh. Andrew, Happy New Year!

ANDREW LEIGH: Happy New Year Stephen, great to be back with you.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Now, it's been announced - it was announced yesterday by the Prime Minister that Parliament will be recalled early to address this Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026. Now, this was obviously drafted in the aftermath of the Bondi attack on 14th December. I got a couple of problems with this. Firstly, my question is what difference does it make if this legislation is passed on the 19th of January or the 3rd of February? It's not going to make any material difference?

ANDREW LEIGH: We need to crack down on hate speech Stephen. We need to do so as quickly as possible. The Prime Minister's determination ever since the horrendous Bondi attacks has been to act swiftly in the interest of stamping out antisemitism.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Well, he's done anything but. I mean, look at the Royal Commission. It took him over three weeks to decide that that was going to happen after saying it never would.

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, he made an immediate announcement that Dennis Richardson would take lead a review of our national security agencies. That'll now be folded into the Royal Commission but our focus has been on ensuring that we get the gun buyback in place, and that'll be part of the legislation before Parliament next week and then basically crack down on hate speech.

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

Opinion Piece

More help to cut our food bills

Published in The Daily Telegraph

12 January 2026

After a decade of Coalition inaction, grocery prices soared while competition was left in the bargain bin. The Albanese government has been working hard to fix a system that left shoppers, farmers and suppliers short-changed.

Let's put the claims on the conveyor belt and scan the facts.

During the Coalition's term in government, Australia became a more concentrated economy. Big companies got bigger, and consumers paid the price.

That era is over.

The ACCC's recent supermarket inquiry confirmed what shoppers long suspected - concentrated market power has weakened competition.

The Albanese government agreed in principle to all recommendations, and we're getting on with fixing the problem.

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
3AW RADIO MELBOURNE, MORNINGS WITH HEIDI MURPHY
MONDAY, 5 JANUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: Albanese Government cracking down on subscription traps; Bondi Terror Attack; Richardson Review; Venezuela

HEIDI MURPHY: Australians are subscribing to more and more digital services. We're told the average is 3.7 subscriptions per household. It's costing us at least 78 bucks a month as of late in 2025. It's always easy enough to sign up for these various things, but it's when you try to cancel that you have to navigate some pretty confusing web pages, some pretty detailed fine print and cop the question of whether you are really sure about this quite a few times.

According to the Consumer Policy Research Centre, three in four of us with subscriptions have had a negative experience when trying to cancel them. If you've got a fool-proof way that always works for you, please share it with the rest of us, 133 693.

This thing of making it hard to cancel is called a 'subscription trap'. It isn't currently illegal, but the federal government is trying to make a move in the space trying to ban subscription traps and other hidden fees. On the line is Dr Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury. Andrew, thanks for your time.

ANDREW LEIGH: Real pleasure Heidi. Great to be with you.

HEIDI MURPHY: What's it going to look like?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, the idea is that it should be as easy to cancel your subscription as it was to sign up. But right now you've got Melbourne gyms that are saying you can sign up on the app, but if you quit you have to phone a person. You've got all kinds of what they call confirmshaming processes, where when you try to cancel the real cancellation link is greyed out and the ‘I've changed my mind and I'd like to stay with you’ link is the easy-to-click one. We've got many Australians, as you've said, who found it difficult to cancel subscriptions and I've even heard stories of people who cancel their credit card because it's easier than cancelling the subscriptions themselves.

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

New Year's Resolutions Shouldn't Come With A Cancellation Nightmare

5 January 2026      

2026 is the year that unfair trading practices like subscription traps will be banned thanks to the Albanese Government.

As Australians make New Year’s resolutions, many will sign up for services designed to help build better habits. A gym membership to get moving. A meditation platform to stress less. A meal kit to eat more healthily. A language app to finally learn Italian.

Resolutions and subscriptions can be life-changing. The problems are the traps that sometimes follow. A free trial that quietly rolls into a paid plan. A cancel button that is buried three screens deep. A requirement to phone during business hours to stop charges. What begins as a sensible resolution can end in frustration, with fees continuing long after enthusiasm has faded. Three out of four Australians with subscriptions say they have experienced problems cancelling.

That’s why the Albanese Government is cracking down on subscription traps by strengthening Australian Consumer Law to reflect how people actually sign up and cancel services today.

The Hon Jim Chalmers MP
Treasurer

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

Banning supermarket price gouging to protect Australian shoppers

14 December 2025

The Albanese Labor Government has made new regulations to ban supermarket price gouging.

We’re cracking down on supermarket price gouging to help Australians get a better deal at the checkout.

This is all about getting a fairer go for families in their weekly shop.

The ban will prohibit very large retailers from charging prices that are excessive when compared to the cost of the supply plus a reasonable margin.

The new ban on excessive pricing of groceries for consumers in the Food and Grocery Code is now law and will come into effect on 1 July 2026.

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

Opinion Piece

Christmas Cracker or Consumer Trap? Retailers Put on Notice

Published in The New Daily

12 December 2025

The Christmas shopping rush has settled into its familiar rhythm. Shopping centres packed at odd hours, parcels stacked on doorsteps, inboxes filling with discount codes and expiring offers. For retailers, it is the most intense trading period of the year. For households, it is a constant calculation between generosity and budget.

Most businesses operate honestly. They advertise accurately and sell goods that meet Australian standards. A few, however, rely on the rush itself: psychological pressure, questionable claims, unsafe products and the assumption that no one will stop to look too closely in the final weeks before Christmas. This year, we’re putting retailers on notice that bad behaviour carries serious consequences.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has signalled that it will be actively looking for misconduct over the festive season. Its focus is on false or misleading sales claims, fake discounts, pressure tactics that rush people into decisions, and unsafe products. These problems are not new, but the scale and speed of modern retail makes them easier to spread and harder to spot.

Since coming to office, the Australian Government has raised the penalties for anti-consumer conduct. The most egregious breaches of consumer law now carry penalties of up to $50 million per offence. These tougher penalties are intended to make non-compliance a genuine commercial risk rather than a tolerable cost.