Andrew Leigh

BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER AND SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION AND PRODUCTIVITY

When it comes to servicing your car, one size doesn't FIAT all

Ten Daily, 21 May 2018

A Mazda 6 that couldn’t get a software update. A Nissan X Trail where the power windows couldn’t be reset. A Kia Cerato where the faulty engine control unit needed a special PIN.

Modern cars are computers on wheels, and every day, independent mechanics are dealing with the software that runs them. From suspension control to anti-lock braking, parking guidance to smart cruise control, the typical passenger vehicle has 25 to 50 central processing units.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

SKY NEWS AM AGENDA

MONDAY, 21 MAY 2018 

SUBJECTS: AGL and Liddell, Climate change and energy costs, Income tax cuts, Labor’s Your Car, Your Choice policy.

KIERAN GILBERT: With me now the Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Andrew Leigh. Your reaction to this news from AGL I'm thinking many of us would have predicted it but the Alinta offer knocked back by AGL and they don't want any further part of it?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Kieran, we know the solution to Australia's energy and climate needs isn't to extend ageing coal fired plants - it's to invest in a whole different suite of renewables. AGL's plan has been acknowledged by the Australian Energy Market Operator - it’s a mix of gas, renewables and demand management. We need to make sure that we've got more renewables in the system. That ensures that we meet our climate targets, but it also makes sure that we are able to have sustained energy production.

GILBERT: The regulators though did also suggest that, in terms of a transition at least, it would be preferable and it would provide insurance if AGL were to keep Liddell open or if it were to be offloaded. That was certainly the Government's hope?

LEIGH: That's the Government's hope, but I differ with you from saying that that's the energy market operator’s recommendation. The energy market operator hasn't recommended an extension of Liddell's life. What this is about is an internal fight within the Liberal Party - the coal dinosaur faction who want to see taxpayers money go to subsidising coal fired plants. That's not good for energy prices in Australia and certainly not good for our carbon emissions. Carbon emissions have continued to rise under a Prime Minister who once said he wouldn't lead a party as committed to climate change as he was.

TRIALS CHANGING LIVES

Friday, 18 May 2018 - The Daily Telegraph

It’s no ordinary courtroom. If former drug users take a step forward – by finding a job, staying off drugs or graduating from the program – the judge leads the court­room in a round of applause. When one man, a former heavy user and dealer, graduated from the program to the applause of the courtroom, he wept. ‘You were the first people who gave me a chance.’

If applauding drug users makes you uneasy, you’re not the only one. When the NSW Drug Court was proposed in 1999, the nation was in the grip of a heroin epidemic. Many people thought that harsher sentences were the only answer. Many experts, including former Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery, were sceptical that the Drug Court would work.

CENTRAL COAST RECONNECTED FORUM A SUCCESS

Central Coast charities and not-for-profits came together today to exchange ideas on boosting social capital and community engagement at another successful ‘Reconnected’ roundtable.

While the Turnbull Government is working in Parliament to stifle the voice of our charities, Labor is listening to the sector to hear how we can ensure our communities have stronger bonds and louder voices.

REPORT ON INVESTIGATION INTO THE AUSTRALIAN TAX OFFICE

Over a month ago, Labor leader Bill Shorten called for an investigation into the Australian Tax Office after troubling allegations were raised by a joint Fairfax Media-Four Corners investigation.

The Turnbull Government heeded our call, announcing an urgent investigation.

Labor calls on the Government to provide an update on that investigation, including the release of the report conducted by Treasury.

MAKE UP YOUR MIND, MR MORRISON

Scott Morrison is again refusing to stand by his own Budget figures, this time hiding behind the Treasury as he dodges calls to release year-by-year costings of his income tax measures beyond the forward estimates.

Scott Morrison told ABC’s Insiders yesterday that:

Barrie Cassidy: So you are saying to the Parliament that it’s unreasonable to ask for year-on-year costings?

Scott Morrison: No, the Treasury in fact say that the within year estimates beyond the Forward Estimates are not reliable.

But if the figures are unreliable, why is the Budget website spruiking a tax relief calculator providing estimates to people beyond that four year period?

The website says someone earning $1 million a year will get an ongoing benefit of $7225 a year from 2024-25. Why don’t we get to know how much it will cost the budget per year?

BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER & SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION AND PRODUCTIVITY 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP

MELBOURNE

SUNDAY, 13 MAY 2018

SUBJECTS: Labor’s plan for a fairer car mechanics industry; Jane Prentice and the lack of women in the Coalition; Turnbull’s unfair Budget for the big end of town.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Well thanks everyone for coming along to JAX Tyres today. Can I thank Angelo for hosting us here, acknowledge Stuart and Lesley from the AAAA, and wish a happy birthday for yesterday to Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten.

Conventional wisdom in Australian politics is that the Prime Minister is in the driver's seat and the Opposition are the backseat drivers but under Labor, in recent years we've seen that position reverse. From the Royal Commission to tax reform, it has been Labor that has been taking the wheel. And with today's announcement, Labor again takes the wheel on a critical issue for small business and Australian consumers.

BILL SHORTEN, OPPOSITION LEADER

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER AND SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION AND PRODUCTIVITY

LABOR TAKES THE WHEEL FOR AUSSIE CAR OWNERS AND MECHANICS

Labor is driving a better deal to put more money back into the pockets of car owners and give 23,000 independent repairers a boost – with a plan to make car manufacturers share their technical information so that vehicles can be serviced by any mechanic.

New cars are computers on wheels. Real-time access to digital files and codes, which vary from car to car, is needed to complete many aspects of a repair or service. Car manufacturers generally own and control this technical information and in many cases are the only sources.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

ABC AM

FRIDAY, 11 MAY 2018

SUBJECT: Labor’s Budget Reply.

SABRA LANE: We’re joined by the Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh in our Canberra studio. Good morning and welcome.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning Sabra.

LANE: Labor is promising to double the cash hand out to middle and low income families, but not higher income families. Does Labor loathe aspirational working Australians?

LEIGH: Not in the least, Sabra. We’re just prioritising middle Australia, people who have seen sluggish wages growth over the course of the last decade. We’ve seen wages rising much more rapidly at the top than at the bottom and we’ve got a time now when inequality in Australia is at 75 year high. The fair go is under threat and Labor is prioritising looking after middle Australia with a tax cut that as you say is better, bigger and fairer.

LANE: But there’s nothing for those on $120,000, earning that kind of money a year. Why are they missing out?

LEIGH: There are more opportunities for their kids to go to university. There are more opportunities for them to get lifesaving MRI scans. Under Labor, we’ll invest in the roads that they use and ensure they’ve got a high quality national broadband network. Australia will be a fairer country under Labor, but we’ll also be a more productive nation. I know as somebody’s who is in the top couple of per cent of the income distribution, the benefits for all Australians flow right through. I’m very fortunate where I am in the Australian population. I believe I can afford to pay a little more tax in order to get those services we need, in order to make sure we get great teachers in every school.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

ABC NEWS BREAKFAST

FRIDAY, 11 MAY 2018

SUBJECT: Labor’s Budget Reply

MICHAEL ROWLAND: Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer. He joins us now from Canberra. Andrew Leigh, Good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning, Michael.

ROWLAND: We heard the challenge to the Government’s challenge there to submit the costings for those big tax cuts. Will the Opposition do that?

LEIGH: Michael. We’ve done exactly as the Treasurer did on Budget Night. The normal procedure on both sides is to release those headline costings but not the underlying documentation. You didn't see it in the Treasurer's budget on Tuesday.

ROWLAND; How can the Opposition afford to almost double that short-term tax handout to low to middle-income earners?

LEIGH: It's a great question with a simple answer. We don't give $80 billion to big companies to send off to their overseas shareholders. $17 billion of that company tax cut goes to the big banks. Bill Shorten isn't prioritising the offshore shareholders of the big banks, he's prioritizing their customers. That's why 10 million Australians will benefit from Labor's bigger, better and fairer tax cut.

ROWLAND: So, that $80 billion, that's a cost saving. You're counting that as a cost saving because you're not handing out those company tax cuts?

LEIGH: We're not and we don't believe it's appropriate to be putting in place a tax cut which, on the Government's own figures, adds 0. 1 per cent to household income in the 2030s.