Andrew Leigh

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.

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

Matter of Public Importance
Tuesday, 20 August 2024

My grandfather Roly Stebbins was born in a tent in 1922. At age 14, in the middle of the Great Depression, he left school to provide for his family. He worked as a boilermaker. Then, after World War II, he and my grandmother Jean Stebbins, a teacher, set about building their first home. They got a cheap block of land in Seaholme near Williamstown and fired the bricks by hand. Roly would get help from his mates, building the house bit by bit when they could.

My grandfather's story was the story of Australia in those postwar decades. Through the interwar period, the homeownership rate in Australia was about half. By 1966, it had risen to nearly three-quarters. This was a huge surge in the homeownership rate spurred initially by the Curtin and Chifley governments and, to their credit, continued by the Menzies government. But it's a very different situation today. Under the former Coalition government, the homeownership rate hit a 60-year low and their policies only made the problems worse. We had the HomeBuilder program, which blew out to five times the expected budget and which, according to the former Governor of the Reserve Bank, Philip Lowe, increased construction prices. We had the former government's policy of raiding your superannuation to pay for a home, which Malcolm Turnbull referred to as the 'craziest idea I've ever heard'. We had the government walk away from social housing and from investing in tackling the problem.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC BREAKFAST WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2024

SUBJECTS: Peter Dutton’s hypocrisy on visas, humanitarian impact of ongoing conflict in the Middle East, helping Australians avoid being scammed

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO, HOST: Time to talk Federal Politics with Andrew Leigh, the Member for Fenner, and Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. Andrew, good morning.

ASSISTANT MINISTER ANDREW LEIGH: Morning Stephen. Great to be with you.

CENATIEMPO: Now, I want to ‑ I'm interested in talking to you about this telecommunications amendment, but first, I'm surprised that you want to talk about Peter Dutton's remarks on Gazan refugees here, because I'm sure the government thinks that they're on a winner here, but you're not.

LEIGH: Well, Stephen I'm happy to talk about anything that's on your mind, but certainly what Peter Dutton's doing seems to me extraordinarily divisive, and something that I think would trouble many Canberrans…

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC CANBERRA DRIVE WITH ROSS SOLLY
THURSDAY, 15 AUGUST 2024

SUBJECTS: Peter Dutton’s remarks on visas for Palestinians, ongoing conflict in the Middle East, CFMEU Bill, AIS support for Olympians.

ROSS SOLLY, HOST: Watching it all unfold on the hill today. Maybe he even took part in some of the discussions, some of the debate, Local Member Andrew Leigh. Good afternoon to you, Andrew Leigh.

ASSISTANT TREASURER ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon, Ross. Great to be with you and your listeners.

SOLLY: Yes, I watched a bit of Question Time today. I've been, for my sins, I have been listening to some of the argy-bargy that's been going on. A couple of people texting earlier on said it's a bit of a dark day in Australian politics when the debate sort of centres on how we treat refugees, etcetera. What's your take on it? Zali Steggall used the 'r' word, the 'racist' word. Was that going too far?