Andrew Leigh

HORSE AND SPARROW ECONOMICS

House of Representatives, 17 September 2018

Before they called it trickledown economics, there was a term known as 'horse and sparrow' economics.

The idea of horse and sparrow economics was that, if you want the sparrows to eat better, you just have to feed the horses enough and eventually there'll be enough left on the road for the sparrows.

That is fundamentally the way in which the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government thinks about economic policy. 

When red tape strangles our charities, we all lose

The Herald Sun - 17 September, 2018

“It has been a nightmare”, reported one charity worker. “It was extremely time consuming to research all the different requirements state by state... each of the states need something different to satisfy the requirements for an application. It is such burden for organisations like ours who are doing our best to help those most in need of help.”

What nefarious activity was the charity involved in? Nothing more than a nationwide online fundraising campaign. Yet because our fundraising laws were written in the pre-internet era, they require charities to seek permission from six states plus the Australian Capital Territory (only the Northern Territory does not have fundraising laws).

AUSTRALIANS DESERVE BETTER THAN MORRISON

Federation Chamber, 13 September 2018

According to a survey by Travel Leaders, Australia is the world's No. 1 travel destination.

So, you'd think that promoting Australia to the world would be the easiest job going. But there's one chap who was sacked in 2006 by the Howard government as the head of Tourism Australia in a unanimous decision of the board.

Don't feel too sorry for him since this chap was reportedly fired from his $350,000 job because tourism minister Fran Bailey couldn't stand his ego.

THERE WAS A HIGHER SHARE OF WOMEN IN THE LIBERAL PARTY ROOM TWO DECADES AGO THEN THERE IS TODAY

Federation Chamber, 10 September 2018

The Prime Minister du jour said some questionable things during his first fortnight, but I draw attention to just one comment. Speaking to a football coach over the weekend, he invited the man to Canberra to 'give the boys a bit of a rev up’.

Let me repeat that: 'the boys.'

I'm here not to talk about sport but to talk about gender equity and what message that comment sends to girls and women in Australia who are contemplating a parliamentary career.

LABOR SUPPORTS SENSIBLE, BROAD BASED TRADE LIBERALISATION

House of Representatives, 10 September 2018

Labor has a strong tradition of supporting sensible, broad based trade liberalisation.

It was the Whitlam Government that instituted a 25 per cent tariff cut in 1973 and the Hawke and Keating governments that reduced tariffs in 1988 and 1991. The net impact of that was to make the Australian economy more competitive and to put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of regular Australian households. Indeed, if you go to a department store now to buy a pair of kid's shoes, you'll see sticker prices that are similar to where they were 30 years ago. If you go to buy a bottom-of-the-range new car, you'll find sticker prices not that different from 30 years ago. Trade liberalisation has benefited households and has the potential to create jobs.

But trade liberalisation has to be done right. Labor's commitment to trade liberalisation is a strong, multilateral one. As they say in trade, ‘bigger is better’, not only with respect to the number of countries engaged in agreement but also with respect to the breadth of the trade agreement. High-quality agreements generate greater benefits.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TV INTERVIEW

SKY NEWS AGENDA

MONDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2018
 
SUBJECTS: The Coalition’s civil war on climate change, US-China trade, Peter Dutton’ eligibility, the divided and dysfunctional Coalition.
 
KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: Joining me now is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh. Thanks so much for your time. Before we get into the politics of the day, I know Labor wants to focus on Peter Dutton quite a bit in terms of the various questions around the Home Affairs Minister. But in terms of Labor's policy questions right now, a challenge for you is where do you go to climate change and the mechanism that will be put in place, because the NEG as it was known - the National Energy Guarantee - is not only dead, it's been pronounced dead it seems you know a handful of times in the last week.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: It's a challenge for the nation, Kieran. This was a policy supported across business and its dumping by the far right of the Liberal Party again shows how extreme the Liberal Party has become. It's been nearly a decade now since the British conservatives and the New Zealand conservatives dealt with climate change in a sensible market based approach using the advice of the experts. The Liberals have had multiple chances – the emissions intensity scheme, the clean energy target, the national energy guarantee - and every time the far right has dragged them off into the wilderness. It's a real problem for households. The government's own modelling said that the NEG would see power prices go down by $550 and in its absence power prices would rise $300. So we'll be continuing to engage with stakeholders. Mark Butler is doing a series of roundtables, I've been part of some of those business roundtables to work out a policy which is detailed, carefully calibrated, brings down emissions and brings down power prices.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TV INTERVIEW

ABC NEWS BREAKFAST

SUNDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2018

SUBJECTS: Wagga by-election, GDP figures, migration debate, Labor's plan to level the playing field for first home buyers, gender pay gap, the Coalition's civil war over energy policy.

HOST: We're speaking with Dr Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh. Thank you for joining us this morning.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Absolute pleasure.

HOST: Before we touch on the issues relating to your portfolio, let's start with this morning's news and the likely loss by the Liberals in the state by-election in Wagga. What message do you think this sends to Canberra?

LEIGH: This was Scott Morrison’s first test and he’s failed it. A 30 per cent swing against the Liberals, they're certain now to lose the seat. It really does reflect the fact that the Liberal Party at a federal level now makes the Addams Family look like The Brady Bunch. So much infighting, focused on themselves rather than on the big problems facing the Australian people, whether it's energy prices or climate change, a squeeze on household expenditures or flat wages. There's all kinds of issues that Australians want their politicians to be focused on. This sort of shenanigans we have seen from the Liberals has now been punished at the ballot-box in Wagga.

HOW THE TAX SYSTEM CAN NARROW (OR WIDEN) THE GENDER GAP

WOMEN IN ECONOMICS NETWORK SEMINAR 

NSW STATE LIBRARY, SYDNEY

7 SEPTEMBER 2018

I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay respects to their elders past and present. My thanks to Leonora Risse and Danielle Wood for your hard work establishing the Women in Economics Network. It’s an honour to be hosted by you today, and I’m looking forward to the inaugural Australian Gender Economics Workshop in Melbourne next February.

It’s not often that you speak on a topic that many people don’t even think is worth discussing. Earlier this year, Scott Morrison opined that ‘The tax system doesn’t discriminate by gender. It’s an absolutely ridiculous proposition.’ He went on to say ‘You know, you don’t get pink forms and blue forms to fill out your tax return… So it’s just a nonsense of an argument.’ The Centre for Independent Studies called the conversation ‘absurd’. The Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance said it amounted to ‘shamefully using women as political pawns’.

So, I feel I should start by explaining why we need to discuss gender and tax.

INDUSTRY SPECIFIC CODE FOR CAR DEALERS AND MANUFACTURERS: THIRD PARTY ENDORSEMENT

“We believe an industry specific code regulating behaviour between new car Dealers and offshore vehicle manufacturers is necessary to protect consumers, dealerships and their employees. Currently new car Dealers are locked into one-sided agreements with vehicle manufacturers which restrict our ability to run a profitable business and protect our consumers” - The Australian Automotive Dealer Association CEO David Blackhall

ANDREW LEIGH MP

SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER

SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION AND PRODUCTIVITY

SHADOW MINISTER FOR CHARITIES AND NOT-FOR-PROFITS

SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE IN SERVICES

MEMBER FOR FENNER

FIONA PHILLIPS

LABOR CANDIDATE FOR GILMORE
 
NOWRA RECONNECTED FORUM A SUCCESS

Today, we held a successful ‘Reconnected’ forum with South Coast charities and not-for-profits, exchanging ideas on how to reverse the decline in community engagement and social capital across Australia.

Australians are less likely to join community organisations or play organised sports than they were several decades ago and it’s this trend that Labor is trying to reverse.

Today‘s was the sixteenth Reconnected forum, following on from successful forums in places such as Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Hobart, and Darwin.