Andrew Leigh

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP

Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

TRANSCRIPT

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP PRESS CONFERENCE
DICKSON SQUARE, ACT
SATURDAY, 27 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: Price gouging by Coles and Woolworths illegal from 1 July 2026 under the Albanese Government

ANDREW LEIGH: Well thanks very much for coming this morning. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Competition. I’m pleased to announce today that on 1 July 2026, the Albanese Government is cracking down on price gouging by the major supermarkets. We know the two major supermarkets in Australia have a very large share of the market – about two thirds between them, a number that's barely changed in the last couple of decades. 

The ACCC’s supermarket report made clear that when you've got significant market concentration, you have the potential for excessive pricing. So what these new laws will do is to say to the two major supermarkets: If you're engaging in excessive pricing, that is pricing that's above the cost of supply plus a reasonable margin, then the ACCC will be empowered to come after you. 

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

 Charity in a scratchy age

Published in The Saturday Paper

27 June 2026

In 1864, two Australian ships were wrecked on Auckland Island, south of New Zealand. Each crew faced the same cold, isolation, hunger and fear.

The Invercauld, wrecked on the north west of the island, fractured. Captain George Dalgarno treated survival as every man for himself. The strong abandoned the weak. A year later, only three of the 25 crew were still alive.

The Grafton, wrecked on the south east, became a community. Captain Thomas Musgrave and his four sailors built a hut, shared food, cared for one another and even fashioned a chess set. After 18 months, they sailed hundreds of kilometres in search of rescue. Every sailor lived.

Same island, different social contract.

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

Saturday, 27 June 2026

Price Gouging By Large Supermarkets Illegal From 1 July 2026

The Albanese Government is banning supermarket excessive pricing from next week.

These changes protect Australian families from artificially inflated prices on their groceries.

From 1 July 2026, it will be illegal for very large retailers such as Coles and Woolworths to charge prices that are excessive, when compared to the cost of supply plus a reasonable margin.

The independent regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will enforce the new laws, and any retailers found to be in breach will face the greater of the: $10 million; three times the value of the benefit derived or 10 per cent annual turnover during the preceding 12 months.

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
THURSDAY, 25 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: CHOICE latest quarterly supermarket basket survey; inflation; tax reform; Socceroos

ROSS SOLLY: The latest CHOICE survey looking at supermarket prices has been released. What does it tell us in this moment of cost of living crisis, et cetera? Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, and he joins us this morning. Dr Andrew Leigh, good morning to you. 

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Ross, great to be with you. And I'm cock a hoop like you are!

ROSS SOLLY: Yes, and are you feeling a bit cock a hoop to be up and about this morning? Is there any fog where you are, Andrew Leigh? That's what I want to know this morning.

ANDREW LEIGH: No I was out running this morning, it was fog free, but very icy. 

ROSS SOLLY: Yes, very icy. There is a bit of fog around apparently in some parts of our listening area, so do take it easy. 

So what's the latest CHOICE survey telling us, Andrew Leigh? I mean, normally we see the independents are doing pretty well. Is that the situation this time round? 

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

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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO MELBOURNE, DRIVE WITH CHARLIE PICKERING
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: Charity donations; banning card surcharges

CHARLIE PICKERING: Well as I said, we're going to take this right to the top. Dr Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and joins me now. Good afternoon Andrew.

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

CHARLIE PICKERING: Great to have you. So Assistant Minister, can it be done? Can we get totally zero surcharges for charity donations?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, one of the sets of surcharges is going. From 1 October, MasterCard and Visa surcharges will be banned. That'll apply to both credit and debit transactions. So to the extent that this is a surcharge which is based on the credit card fee that goes from 1 October.

To the extent that it's a platform fee, it's fair to say that charities need donations and those payment systems cost money. So it's a business decision for the charity as to whether to use a third-party payment platform. But we've put in place some national fundraising principles, Charlie, and one of those says that charities must always ensure that remuneration to commercial fundraisers isn't excessive compared to how much they're raising.

CHARLIE PICKERING: Isn't excessive feels like it could be a bit of a rubbery term, though? It's kind of like the reasonable man test in a lot of our laws that really comes down to who's being reasonable on which day. It feels like, you know, we heard there the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and the fees is more than 8 per cent there. Is that not excessive?

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

Constituency Statement: Inspirational Runners
House of Representatives

22 June 2026

Yesterday, Pam Muston organised her 10th Kowen trail marathon, an event that raises funds for the Wamboin Rural Fire Brigade, turning hills and kilometres into community strength. Hundreds of runners chose to run the 12-, 21-or 42-kilometre courses through Kowen Forest before returning to a breakfast cooked by the local firies.

I've had the privilege not only of running plenty of Pam's races but also of running alongside her, so I can attest that she's not only a great race director but also a terrific ultramarathoner. Pam has won the Glasshouse Mountains hundred-miler three years in a row, raced the 240-kilometre Coast to Kosci on multiple occasions and runs the Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100 race each year. Her 2025 ACT Local Hero nomination recognised the admiration Canberrans have for Pam.

I also pay tribute to Jenny Kellett of Hawker. At 71, Jenny holds multiple Australian age group records for the half marathon and marathon. Two years ago she ran the Chicago Marathon in three hours, 23 minutes. Last year she completed the Comrades Ultramarathon in nine hours, 29 minutes. Jenny keeps proving that older athletes can produce speedy times. Pam and Jenny both took up serious running in their 50s, and these two remarkable women inspire many to run further than they might have imagined.

Ends

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

Constituency Statement: Housing 
House of Representatives

22 June 2026

Last week I joined the Prime Minister and Housing Minister at the North Canberra suburb of Jacka. Jacka is named after Albert Jacka, the first Australian to receive the Victoria Cross. Before he served in the First World War, he worked as a forester, which raises a question: could a worker on a forester's wage buy a secure home today?

To address that, the Australian Government is boosting housing supply across the country. In Jacka, skilled tradies are building 57 social and affordable homes backed by $50 million in Commonwealth funding through the Housing Australia Future Fund. These homes are due to welcome their first residents within a year. Our $47 billion Homes for Australia agenda will unlock 420,000 homes over the next decade. Through our five per cent deposit scheme, a quarter of a million Australians have already been helped towards their first home. We're changing negative gearing so new investors are encouraged to finance new homes, which means more construction and a fairer contest at auction for first home buyers. In Jacka and across the country, Labor is building that future.

Ends

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, 19 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: Budget; Tax reform implementation details; start-ups

ROSS SOLLY: So you’ve been hearing in the news all morning that the government announced yesterday that there will be changes to its capital gains tax policy and the way that trusts are taxed. There’s also going to be a walking back of the powers that Jim Chalmers had as Treasurer. All of these things were causing a considerable amount of angst in many circles. And despite the government saying that they’re going to push through and they’re going to hold their nerve, in the end, they were unable to do so.

Dr Andrew Leigh is the Member for Fenner, and also the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and joins us this morning. Dr Leigh, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning.

ROSS SOLLY: Crikey, what happened there? Are you still with us, Dr Leigh?

ANDREW LEIGH: I certainly am, yes. All is good on my end.

ROSS SOLLY: No, there was a big squeaking noise there. I’m not sure what it was. So why – tell me why that your government has decided to make these changes?

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

Credit Where It’s Due: Insolvency, Trust and Economic Dynamism

Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association National Conference
Gold Coast

Friday, 19 June 2026

I acknowledge the Yugambeh people, traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, and pay my respects to Elders past and present. I also acknowledge any First Nations people with us today.

Thank you to the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association for the invitation to join you.

This is a room that sees the economy from a particular angle. Economists tend to see businesses as dots on a chart. Government departments might see them as ABNs, PAYG obligations and line items in national accounts. Consumers see them as the café downstairs, the builder next door or the app that either works beautifully or ruins a Saturday afternoon.

You see them when the numbers no longer add up.

That gives this profession a rare kind of knowledge. You see the spreadsheets, the security interests, the family guarantees and the conversations that begin with someone saying: ‘I thought we had more time’.

You also see what happens when the system works. A viable business can be restructured. A creditor can get a fairer return. A debtor can understand their obligations. A fraud can be stopped before it corrodes confidence. A person whose life has been knocked sideways can regain a place in the economy.

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

From Fine Print to Fair Play

Virtual Address to the National Consumer Congress
Sydney

Friday, 19 June 2026

I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to their Elders, and all Indigenous people joining today, including those working every day to make markets fairer for First Nations communities.

Thank you to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for convening the National Consumer Congress, and to everyone here from consumer organisations, regulators, community groups, academia, business and government.

Your theme is ‘Making it count: What does it take to achieve real change?’

For consumer policy, that question is trickier than it might seem at first blush.

Announcing a reform is only the first step. It also has to reach the kitchen table, the checkout screen, the call centre and the complaints desk. It’s one thing to have consumer rights. It’s another to be able to exercise your rights without needing the advice of a King’s Counsel and the tenacity of a blue heeler.

Consumer protection counts when it changes what people actually encounter. When a parent buying a child’s toy online can trust that it is safe. When a shopper can see the real price before they pay. When cancelling a subscription is not treated as an endurance sport. When a faulty product is met with a remedy, not a shrug.