Andrew Leigh

When I'm out running on the bush trails, I'm usually listening to a podcast or an audiobook. I've ploughed through a few duds, but have also enjoyed several gems. Here's 38 of my favourite fiction and non-fiction books of 2022 (including a few that were published in prior years, that I'm only now catching up with).

The Rabbit Hutch - Tess Gunty: A darkly beautiful novel, about teens surviving a turbulent childhood in one of the American towns hit hard by deindustrialisation

I Hate the Ivy League - Malcolm Gladwell: Worth reading for every Ivy league graduate, and a reminder that universities are better when they teach more students

QAnon and On – Van Badham: One of Australia’s most incisive writers takes a deep dive into the murky world of conspiracy theories. A fascinating and brave book (if you want to know just how brave, listen to our conversation about the book at ANU, available on my website).

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Neil deGrasse Tyson: Pop physics books never seem to stick in my brain for long enough, but this one did give me plenty of fun facts to share with my teenage boys

This Is Going to Hurt - Adam Kay: Diary of a young obstetrics doctor, working in the UK NHS. Savagely funny. It came out a few years ago, and I’m just catching up.

The Last White Man - Mohsin Hamid: A remarkable novel about race and racism. The writing is spare and engaging.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS FIRST EDITION
MONDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2022

TOPICS: Charity scams, energy plan, clean energy

DANICA DE GIORGIO (HOST): There's a warning for Australians who give generously to charities over the Christmas period to be aware of fake charity scams. Fake scams have tended to peak over the December January period in recent years. Joining me now live, is Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Which scams are doing the rounds?

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY DR ANDREW LEIGH, : Well, it's a range of scams, typically from organisations pretending to be reputable charities. And so the key here is to be safe and to give smart. If someone's on the phone and they're not sounding quite right, then just hang up and Google the charity. Or go to acnc.gov.au, the charity commission website, where you can get the real details. We want to make sure that scammers go home empty handed this Christmas season, at the same time as ensuring that Australia's great charities get the resources they need to help the most vulnerable.

MARKET POWER AND MARKUPS: MALIGN MARKERS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MACROECONOMY

THE SYDNEY INSTITUTE, SYDNEY
WEDNESDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2022

I acknowledge the Gadigal people, traditional custodians of the land on which we gather today, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present.

I’d also like to acknowledge the Sydney Institute and its long-standing commitment to encouraging big conversations about big issues.

Introduction

In 2012, I spoke here about why inequality matters, and what we should do about it (Leigh 2012).

Returning a decade later, I’m even more convinced that market power is a critical part of Australia’s economic story.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC MELBOURNE DRIVE WITH RAF EPSTEIN
TUESDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2022

SUBJECTS: interest rates, inflation, coal and gas prices

RAF EPSTEIN (HOST): Eight consecutive rate rises. Interest rates, or the central rate, hasn't been this high since the end of December 2012. These are the issues that are faced by the Albanese government. Andrew Leigh is the assistant Minister for Competition Charities and Treasury. Thanks for joining us.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES, AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Pleasure, Raf. Good to be with you and your listeners.

Joint media release with
The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP
Minister for Social Services
Member for Solomon

Senator the Hon Murray Watt
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Minister for Emergency Management

THANKS TO OUR DISASTER VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers play a significant role during disasters, stepping up to help their families, friends and neighbours during times of great need.

Today, on International Volunteer Day, we recognise the tireless efforts of Australia’s volunteers, who join our professional emergency services personnel in supporting their communities in times of crisis.

During relentless and repeated disasters this year, across large parts of the country, volunteers have been front and centre protecting communities.

It has been a demanding year, and volunteers from all walks of life, from every corner of Australia, have contributed to helping their communities.

In New South Wales, SES volunteers have supported 15,800 requests for assistance and 806 flood rescues since 14 September. These requests include conducting damage assessments to buildings and homes. More than 6,300 building assessments have been completed. 

10th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACNC

Canberra via Video Link
FRIDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2022

Today is an auspicious day. Not only are we celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the election of the Whitlam Government, but we also mark the tenth anniversary of Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. The ACNC was born of a vision that charities needed a one stop shop. That just as businesses had ASIC, so too, there should be a single regulator for the charities and not-for-profit sector.

I particularly want to thank Deborah Jenkins for your work stepping in as interim commissioner, Anna Longley, who has also served in the role, and to acknowledge Sue Woodward, who will soon take up the reins running the Charities Commission.

What does a ten-year anniversary mean? Well, as it happens, my youngest son is ten years old, so I have a bit of a sense as to what he does now that he couldn't do a decade ago. He's become more thoughtful, he's become wiser, he's become funnier. He is, in short, making a much greater contribution to the world than he did a decade ago. 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC SATURDAY EXTRA WITH GERALDINE DOOGUE
SATURDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2022

SUBJECTS: Competition policy, economic dynamism, tourism and accommodation consultation on price parity clauses, ACCC digital platforms inquiry.

GERALDINE DOOGUE (HOST): Well, we all know how time-consuming and frustrating it can be searching around online for the best rates for a hotel room or flight. Sometimes we're left scratching our heads, as every platform seems to be offering the same rate, give or take a dollar, even the hotel's own website. Well a new Federal Government review is looking at this exact phenomenon, which is called a price parity clause. That's where a hotel cannot offer rooms at a lower price than those on the platform to which it's contracted. These clauses may well be anticompetitive, with consumers adversely affected. To talk us through the review's objectives and for a fuller understanding of reforms that may be necessary in the competition space, I'm pleased to welcome back to the programme Dr Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. Welcome back, Andrew.

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks, Geraldine, great to be chatting with you.

DOOGUE: How widespread are these price parity clauses in Australia and overseas?

FIFTY YEARS ON, WHITLAM'S GOVERNMENT IS STILL WORTH CELEBRATING

CANBERRA, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB
FRIDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2022
***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

When Prime Minister William McMahon set the date for the 1972 election as December 2, Whitlam noted that it was the anniversary of the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz, when Napoleon defeated the Russian and Austrian armies. It was, he said, ‘a date on which a crushing defeat was administered to a coalition - another ramshackle, reactionary coalition’.

Whitlam was a reformer, but he valued tradition, and knew his history. Visiting Australia in 1974, Gore Vidal was struck to meet a Prime Minister who took issue with the historical accuracy of Vidal’s novel about the Roman Emperor, Julian.

It was, Vidal later noted, ‘an unusual experiment for Australia to choose as its Prime Minister its most intelligent man’. As Julia Gillard noted in her 2011 Whitlam oration, Whitlam – like his near namesake Whitman – could well have said ‘I am large, I contain multitudes.’

Scott Prasser and David Clune’s edited book ‘The Whitlam Era’ also contains multitudes – bringing together more than a dozen respected commentators to provide a critical analysis of the Whitlam Government, half a century today from its election.

The Canberra Times, Friday 2 December 2022

When prime minister William McMahon set the date for the 1972 election as December 2, Whitlam noted that it was the anniversary of the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz, when Napoleon defeated the Russian and Austrian armies. It was, he said, "a date on which a crushing defeat was administered to a Coalition - another ramshackle, reactionary Coalition".

Whitlam was a reformer, but he valued tradition, and knew his history. Visiting Australia in 1974, Gore Vidal was struck to meet a prime minister who took issue with the historical accuracy of Vidal's novel about the Roman emperor Julian.

It was, Vidal later noted, "an unusual experiment for Australia to choose as its prime minister its most intelligent man". As Julia Gillard noted in her 2011 Whitlam oration, Whitlam - like his near namesake Whitman - could well have said "I am large, I contain multitudes."

Joint media release with
The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP
Minister for Environment and Water

Saltmarsh ecosystems: helping to tackle climate change and protect coastal homes - Media Release

New data has shown that saltmarsh ecosystems are protecting over 88,000 homes from storm surges, and sequestered about 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2021.  

Saltmarshes are coastal wetlands that are flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tide.

This information comes from the second phase of the Australian Government’s National Ocean Ecosystem Account, released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Phase two has focused on carbon storage, gross carbon sequestration and coastal protection benefits of Australia’s saltmarshes, which are considered to be blue carbon ecosystems.

There are over 1 million hectares of saltmarsh in Australia, an area larger than Greater Melbourne.