Andrew Leigh

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1 SEPTEMBER 2020

When the coronavirus recession hit, most firms recognised there's a social contract: get a wage subsidy from the taxpayer and do right for workers. But some companies didn't understood that JobKeeper was designed to keep people in work, not pad corporate profits.

Half the shares in Australia are owned by the top fifth of the population, so converting JobKeeper into 'DividendKeeper' takes a program designed to reduce inequality and uses it to increase inequality.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC CANBERRA BREAKFAST
TUESDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 2020

SUBJECTS: JobKeeper and JobSeeker; foreign affairs and Australia’s national interest; China; Scott Morrison playing ‘whack a premier’ to pass the buck on aged care; charities facing perfect storm of falling donations and increased demand.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO, HOST: Joining us, as they will. on a Tuesday is our political panel. The Labor Member for Fenner and Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Charities Andrew Leigh joins us for the first time. G’day, Andrew.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND CHARITIES: G’day, Stephen.

CENATIEMPO: And Zed Seselja, the ACT Liberal Senator and Assistant Minister for Finance, Charities and Electoral Matters. You guys are actually head to head in more than one way today.

ZED SESELJA, LIBERAL SENATOR: Good morning, Stephen. Morning. Andrew. How are you?

LEIGH: Wonderfully well. Yes, it's a nice coincidence to have two people concerned about charities from the ACT, isn’t it Stephen?

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 31 AUGUST 2020

Recessions hit the poor hardest, which is why Australia followed many countries around the world in implementing a wage subsidy scheme.

But a scheme designed to reduce inequality is being misused by a small number of firms, who are channelling it to executive bonuses.

Accent Group received $13 million in JobKeeper and gave CEO Daniel Agostinelli a $1.2 million bonus.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 31 AUGUST 2020

'Big-sky beauty, breezy civic pride and a decidedly hipster underbelly' is how The New York Times described Canberra, home to a slew of national institutions that the Gray Lady has called 'excellent'.

As a Canberra local this praise comes as no surprise. I'm lucky enough to live in the same city as Old Parliament House and to be able to take my boys to the National Portrait Gallery when we have a free afternoon. When you flip through the Lonely Planet's guide to the top activities in Canberra, the list is littered with national institutions. That iconic travel guide states:

Some of the nation's best art galleries are here, and there's plenty of history too, both past and in the making – visitors can see Australian democracy in action at Parliament House before exploring its bygone days at some of the city's many museums.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 31 AUGUST 2020

Biologist Edward O Wilson once talked about the idea of biophilia: the notion that humans have an innate desire to connect with nature and other forms of life. Biophilia is being understood now in terms of the importance of mental health and spending time in the environment. I started today in the Canberra bush doing hill sprints on one of the hills near my house. Part of the joy of that is not just the physical exercise; it's the connection with the country around you—spending time with the kangaroos, the kookaburras and the galahs amidst the eucalyptus.

So many Australians see the natural environment as being critical to who we are, and so many international visitors come to Australia to see our natural environment. They want to see Uluru. They want to the Great Barrier Reef. The environment is fundamental to who we are and who we stand for in the world.

Yet, under the Coalition, we have seen the greatest travesty in their inability to deal with unchecked climate change.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 27 AUGUST 2020

The history of superannuation in Australia is pretty simple: it is introduced by Labor; the Liberals oppose it; people like Bronwyn Bishop speak out against it; John Howard then goes to the 1996 election promising to continue with the scheduled rate of superannuation increase, but he doesn't tell the truth and freezes the superannuation guarantee; Tony Abbott goes to the 2013 election promising to increase the superannuation contribution, but he breaks his promise and doesn't continue with the scheduled increases; and Prime Minister Scott Morrison goes to the 2019 election saying that he has pledged to continue with the legislated pattern of superannuation increases—a promise he now appears to be set to break. His own superannuation minister appears not to mind much either way, whether the government sticks with its promise, sticks with the legislation, or does the wrong thing by the Australian working people. It's a bit like Medicare. It's a bit like climate change.

These are issues which matter deeply in our hearts to those of us on this side of politics. Those on the other side know that they matter to the Australian people, and so they mouth the platitudes at election time, but when it comes to action, when it comes to doing the right thing, they don't stand up for working people.

Seeking Your North Canberra Photos

Each year, we send a Seasonal Greeting card to all the households in the Fenner electorate. This year, we’ve decided to do something a bit different, and showcase local photographers.

If you’re a resident of Fenner and you’ve taken a snap that you think would suit our card, please send it to us via email: [email protected].

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 26 AUGUST 2020

We are now in the greatest economic downturn that Australia has seen since the Great Depression. Research from the Australian Treasury has revealed just how damaging this can be, particularly to young Australians. That research has looked at the so-called scarring effect, the long-term effect, of graduating in the teeth of a recession. I know this effect well, having finished high school in 1990 and seen some of my classmates who searched for work utterly unable to find it at that time.

We know now that there are 13 jobseekers for every job vacancy, so this problem is particularly acute.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 26 AUGUST 2020

The charity sector has a massive impact on our society and our economy. It is eight per cent of GDP, it has 1.3 million workers—about a tenth of the national workforce—and three million volunteers.

The charities sector is bigger than agriculture or manufacturing or retail, and yet the charity sector is under pressure like never before. Research from the Australian National University's Nicholas Biddle and Matthew Gray, commissioned by Volunteering Australia, found that two-thirds of volunteers were forced to cut back their hours as a result of COVID. A survey by Giving Tuesday found that nearly two-thirds of charities had a drop in volunteer activity and fundraising. Research by wealth management firm JBWere estimates that total donations will fall by seven per cent this year and 12 per cent next year.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC CANBERRA DRIVE
TUESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2020

SUBJECTS: Google; the importance of supporting local Australian journalism; multinational tax avoidance; JobSeeker and JobKeeper.

LEON DELANEY, HOST: Have you noticed that when you open up Google Chrome or when you use Google search, these little yellow triangles pop up with warning signs saying ‘warning, warning, Will Robinson, danger’? No, they say something like ‘warning, the Australian Government is about to impose rules that will dramatically impact upon Google's ability to provide you with services’ or something to that effect. So in order to shed some light on just what damn hell is going on there, I thought I should consult with that well-known technology guru, the Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh. Good afternoon.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND CHARITIES: Good afternoon, Leon.

DELANEY: I never knew you were a technology guru. When did this happen?

LEIGH: [laughter] Like almost everyone, I appreciate Google and make good use of their products, but I think they might have overreached in this case. This is simply an ask for a trillion dollar company to make a small contribution to keeping the news media going. And as you know, Leon-