Andrew Leigh

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
ABC AFTERNOON BRIEFING, WITH PATRICIA KARVELAS
MONDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: ISIS foreign fighters’ wives; tariffs; tax reform; Trump Tower on the Gold Coast; ‘The Shortest History of Innovation’

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Now for the government's view. Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and joins me now. Andrew Leigh, welcome.

ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks Patricia, great to be with you. 

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Now, you know, just to cover off on that perspective – Save the Children are very concerned about the Coalition's proposal. The Attorney General, Michelle Rowland has not closed the door on the Coalition's proposal. Do you think it's a bad idea?

ANDREW LEIGH: We've certainly got concerns about its constitutionality. But I would say that in the case of this cohort, they made an appalling mistake in choosing to travel to Syria. To support ISIS was to support one of the most appallingly barbaric groups in human history, which left behind a litter of enslaved women, murdered children and mass graves. So the government doesn't want these people back in Australia, but the law requires that if you're an Australian citizen, you can be granted a passport.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Okay. So what do you make then of what Mat Tinkler has said there? He says he is concerned about the Government's rhetoric as well as the Opposition's, that you're using this harder language and that actually we have an obligation to these children who are Australian children, that it actually will make us safer to have them repatriated here. Can you see that argument Assistant Minister?

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

Opinion Piece

Why We Should Get To Choose Who Fixes Our Cars

Published in The New Daily

19 February 2026

Until mid-2022, many Australian drivers discovered that owning a car did not always mean controlling who could repair it. As vehicles became more digital, critical diagnostic information wasn’t always available to the independent mechanics people trusted. That left drivers with fewer choices, less convenience and often a higher bill.

That is precisely the problem Australia’s right-to-repair scheme was designed to fix.

The Australian Government’s review released this month confirms that the nation’s first motor vehicle right-to-repair framework is delivering what it promised: more choice for motorists, quicker repairs, stronger small businesses, and a more competitive repair market.

Since the Albanese Government took office, vehicle manufacturers have been required to share service and repair information with independent workshops at a fair market price. It sounds technical, but the effect is simple. When more qualified mechanics can fix your car, there are more repairers competing for your business, so drivers benefit.

The results are striking. The review links the scheme to a $2.4 billion annual lift in automotive industry turnover. Independent workshops report higher capability and stronger productivity. Motorists face fewer barriers when servicing modern vehicles and have more options about where to go.

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

Opinion Piece

Fibre is the infrastructure of the modern economy – and Canberra is getting more of it

Published in The Canberra Times

19 February 2026

In the early days of electricity, households judged its value by how brightly it lit their homes. Few imagined it would reshape manufacturing, healthcare, communications and entertainment. Broadband is following the same path. What began as a faster way to browse the web has become core economic infrastructure. The fibre upgrade now underway across Canberra will help ensure our city remains productive, connected, innovative and resilient in the decades ahead.

Construction has begun on a major upgrade that will enable around 97,000 Canberra homes and businesses currently connected by fibre-to-the-node to transition to full fibre connections. Across 85 suburbs, workers will haul more than 2,500 kilometres of fibre and utilise over 1,200 poles. By the end of the decade, nearly all premises in the ACT currently served by fibre-to-the-node will be eligible for full fibre.

To understand why this matters, it helps to know the difference between fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-premises. Fibre-to-the-node runs optical fibre to a street cabinet, then relies on ageing copper lines to reach individual homes. Copper was designed for voice calls and basic data services. Its performance weakens over distance and degrades over time. Fibre-to-the-premises replaces that copper link with optical fibre all the way to the building. The result is faster speeds, greater reliability, higher capacity and stronger long-term performance.

Full fibre connections can deliver gigabit speeds and beyond. They also allow upload speeds to keep pace with download speeds. This supports households uploading large files, students participating in interactive classes, and businesses running cloud-based operations. Fibre also has lower latency, meaning faster response times, smoother video calls, clearer telehealth consultations and more responsive digital services.

Senator The Hon Katy Gallagher 
Minister for Finance
Minister for Women
Minister for the Public Service
Minister for Government Services
Senator for the ACT

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

David Smith MP
Member for Bean

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: NBN upgrades begin for up to 97,000 ACT homes and businesses; CGT; private health insurance premiums; GST carve up; ACCC case against Coles; ACNC

DAVID SMITH MP, MEMBER FOR BEAN: Good morning, I am David Smith, the Federal Member for Bean, and we're not quite in Bean, we're a couple of streets away, but we are very, very exciting news about roll out of the NBN today. I'm with the Minister for Finance and Senator for the ACT, Katy Gallagher, Andrew Barr, Chief Minister, and Ellie Sweeney from the NBN. And I'll pass over to Katy for an update on the upgrades to the NBN today.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Thanks very much, Dave. It's great to be here with Ellie Sweeney, the Chief Minister, and my federal colleagues.

This is a really important announcement for the ACT. This is really finishing the job of the NBN here in the ACT. Canberrans were promised a lot when the NBN was announced, and then when the Liberal government came in and they revised the NBN, they downgraded Canberra. And what that meant is that Canberra households, Canberra businesses, didn't get access to the high-speed broadband that we were promised, and this is about finishing that job, making sure that households, businesses can have the choice to have that access to high-speed broadband delivered by the NBN when we know demand through households and businesses for high-speed internet is increasing all the time.

We know that each household has about 25 devices. We know that's going to increase to 44 over time. We know businesses rely very much on access to high-speed internet, and this is about finishing the job. We're so pleased, this was a commitment we gave to the Canberra community last year as we headed into the federal campaign, this is about finishing that job.

So you will see enormous work happening across Canberra over the next three or so years. You're seeing it starting here in Narrabundah, but there's a number of suburbs this will happen right across Canberra, 85 suburbs, a huge amount of fibre rolled out.

We're incredibly pleased the NBN has put together this project here in the ACT and has prioritised Canberra, but also to the Chief Minister and his team, because it is disruptive, it is construction work, it is a big investment in the ACT, but we need to work in partnership across the federal government, NBN and the ACT Government to deliver the high-speed broadband that Canberrans deserve, and that's what this is about.

We know that the Liberals downgraded Canberra. When you have a Labor Government working with the ACT Labor Government here, we get the job done.

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

The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

The Hon Andrew Giles MP
Minister for Skills and Training

Leading Competition Experts Appointed As Government Revitalises National Competition Council And Launches Major Review To Boost Labour Mobility

18 February 2026

Appointment of President and Councillors

The Albanese Government has made key expert appointments to the National Competition Council to push ahead our ambitious productivity reform agenda.

The Government has appointed Mr Marcus Bezzi as the President and Ms Catherine Dermody, the Hon Dr Craig Emerson and Ms Sally McMahon as councillors to the National Competition Council for a three-year period beginning on 18 February 2026. These are all part time roles.

We’re getting more houses built, cutting red tape and boosting productivity, and the work of the Council is an important part of that agenda.

We have tasked the Council with delivering its first major independent evaluation in more than 20 years – a review aimed at removing red tape that makes it harder for Australian workers to move seamlessly across state borders.

The work of the Council will support the Government’s push to strengthen and streamline the occupational licensing system to cut red tape and save tradies and engineers time and money.

Senator The Hon Katy Gallagher 
Minister for Finance
Minister for Women
Minister for the Public Service
Minister for Government Services
Senator for the ACT

The Hon Anika Wells MP
Minister for Communications
Minister for Sport

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

Alicia Payne MP
Member for Canberra

David Smith MP
Member for Bean

Major NBN Upgrade Works Begin In The ACT For Up To 97,000 Homes And Businesses

18 February 2026

Construction is underway to deliver faster and more reliable internet access to tens of thousands of Canberra households and businesses, as the Albanese Labor Government continues delivering for the ACT.

As part of a significant broadband infrastructure upgrade, about 97,000 ACT premises currently connected via Fibre to the Node (FTTN) will be upgraded to full fibre connections.

These upgrades will support households and businesses to access high-speed internet for work, health services and everyday online activities, works include:

• 50 projects across 85 suburbs in the ACT
• More than 2,500 km of fibre to be hauled
• Over 1,200 poles utilised for aerial design and construction

This work will enable about 99% of ACT premises currently served by FTTN technology to be eligible for an upgrade to full fibre. NBN Co will undertake further design work to determine the most appropriate upgrade path for the small number of remaining premises.

This milestone is part of the Government’s announcement in January 2025 to upgrade the remaining premises served by the Fibre to the Node network.

This work is part of the Albanese Labor Government’s national investment to upgrade Australia’s remaining FTTN network, supported by a $3 billion Commonwealth equity investment in NBN Co, alongside more than $800 million contributed by NBN Co.

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AFTERNOON AGENDA, WITH JULIA BRADLEY
MONDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: ACCC case against Coles; Albanese Government helping Australians get a fairer deal at the checkout; national competition policy; productivity; Labor’s ban on Unfair Trading Practices, including subscription traps and drip pricing

JULIA BRADLEY: Well Coles’ famous slogan, ‘Down, down, prices are down’, is facing its biggest test yet as a ten day hearing begins in the Federal Court. The ACCC launching the case over soaring grocery prices –accusing major supermarkets of exploiting their market power during the inflation surge. The watchdog alleges the supermarket misled customers over discounted product promotions. Coles denies any wrongdoing and the case comes ahead of new regulations to ban excessive supermarket pricing; supermarket pricing coming into effect from July 1. Joining me live now is Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury. Thank you so much for your company. What do you make of this court case which is now beginning? What could be the outcome of this? What are you expecting?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well these are extremely serious allegations being levelled against one of the nation's biggest retailers. We know our supermarket sector is very concentrated. The big two have two-thirds of the market. And that's why since we came to office, the Albanese Government has set about cracking down on supermarkets, so families and farmers get a fairer deal. We've raised the maximum penalties for anti-competitive conduct and we've given an additional $30 million to the competition watchdog to run cases such as these. As you mentioned Julia, we're banning price gouging starting from the 1st of July. And we're also investigating strengthening the unit pricing code to deal with shrinkflation –that problem that happens when the size of the pack shrinks but the price stays the same.

JULIA BRADLEY: I've certainly noticed shrinkflation in supermarkets that's for sure. When you buy your favourite product and gosh, there's not much in the pack is there? So in terms of this court case involving the ACCC, does the current economic climate with rising inflation play into the favor of the ACCC against the supermarkets? What are you expecting the context to say about this?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well I should be careful not to comment on an active court case, given the separation of powers but I do know that many Australian families are under pressure, and that's why the Albanese Government has been so focused on ensuring that we get our supermarket reforms right. We've got a consultation closing tomorrow which is looking at whether or not the supermarkets should be required to post all their prices in-store and the big supermarkets required to post them online in a way that can be used by price comparison tools, as well as considering whether loyalty programs need to provide a little bit more transparency so that customers know what they're really getting. We understand the importance to customers of getting a fair deal at the checkout, and we recognise that the supermarket sector is a big part of the cost-of-living pressures that Australians are under.

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

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
ABC AFTERNOON BRIEFING, WITH PATRICIA KARVELAS
MONDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: ACCC case against Coles; Angus Taylor’s economic record; immigration

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Supermarket giant Coles has been accused by the ACCC of a planned campaign to mislead customers over price discounts on the first day of a bombshell Federal Court case. Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister responsible for competition policy and he’s my guest. Andrew Leigh, welcome.

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

PATRICIA KARVELAS: This is a very big case and quite consequential – Coles and the ACCC. Now the former ACCC boss, Allan Fels says that this is the case of the century because its implications are huge. Just describe to me what you think the implications are?

ANDREW LEIGH: Look this is a big case with significant implications, with an allegation that so-called discounts actually weren’t. Many Australians will shop at one of these two big retailers, which between them, control two-thirds of the supermarket sector. And so the implications of this case are substantial.

Upon coming to government Patricia, we increased the penalties for anti-competitive conduct and we gave additional funding to the ACCC – some additional $30 million so they could pursue cases of this kind. We’ve also commissioned the first big supermarket competition review in 16 years and set about a whole suite of reforms, both in order to ensure that families get a fairer deal but also that farmers are better treated in their dealings with the supermarket giants.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: You say that this, you know, has big implications and that’s, I think – there’s a consensus that that’s the case. Is this the sort of court case that the government watches closely to see if there’s also perhaps a need for even more law reform?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yes, we’ve got a pretty substantial law reform agenda in terms of making sure Australians get a fair deal at the checkout. We’re banning supermarket price gouging, we’re reviewing the unit pricing code to tackle shrinkflation and we’ve got CHOICE out there doing quarterly grocery price monitoring so Australians get a sense as to where they can get the best deal on their weekly shop. And that’s on top of what we’ve done with farmers with turning the old toothless code of conduct that existed under the former Coalition Government into a mandatory code with multi-million-dollar penalties for supermarkets who do the wrong thing in their dealings with farmers.

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
MONDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: Liberal Party Leadership; Immigration Policy; ACCC case against Coles; Albanese Government helping Australians get a fairer deal at the checkout

ROSS SOLLY: Here's a couple of thoughts on what makes Australian values on the text line. ‘Mateship, not taking ourselves too seriously, respect for individual differences, inclusivity, having a crack and kicking against the pricks.’ Oh yep – no that's fair. David Torrens; ‘The politicians and others that seek and call for immigrants to accept Australian values are just dog whistling their racist ideas, and in some cases policy. It's such a sad and tragic pronouncement to hear in our multicultural communities’. Well let's go to Andrew Leigh. Andrew Leigh is the Member for Fenner and Assistant Minister for Competition and we're going to talk about the ACCC versus Coles court case. But Andrew Leigh, good morning to you. Do you feel that we're losing our way in regard to Australian values and what it means to be Australian?

ANDREW LEIGH: I've always thought there's three big values that define Australia, Ross. Egalitarianism, mateship - updated for a modern era - and the fair go. They encapsulate a lot of what has traditionally been recognised as what made Australia different, even going back to convict times. And also I think appropriate for a present in which so many of us are either migrants or the children of migrants.

ROSS SOLLY: So when Angus Taylor said on Friday, and he said it again over the weekend that one of the things he wants to see is a return to Australian values and people that are stopping him on the street and saying, ‘Oh, I don't think that, you know, we're recognising any more or promoting what it takes to be Australian’. Do you think he's right?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, putting Angus Taylor's comments to one side, I think people who rail against immigration are in some sense campaigning against a fundamental Australian value. Given that Australia has been such a successful multicultural democracy. That is very much a part of modern Australia and if you can't accept that, then you're missing much of what makes modern Australia strong. That ability to welcome successive waves of migrants into an egalitarian multicultural democracy, who's enjoyed growth and living standards which are the envy of many countries around the world.

ROSS SOLLY: Let's talk about this court case. Allan Fels today is describing it as the court case of the century. That might be a bit of an overstatement, Andrew Leigh. But as the Assistant Minister for Competition, the ACCC taking on Coles this week in the courts, there's a lot riding on this. It is an important case, isn't it?

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

FutureReady Belconnen: Opening Doors, Building Futures
Opening of the MTC FutureReady Skills for Education and Employment Training Centre

Belconnen, ACT

13 February 2026

We gather today on Ngunnawal Country, and I pay my respects to Elders past and present.

It is a real pleasure to be here for the opening of the MTC FutureReady Skills for Education and Employment training centre in Belconnen.

At its heart, this centre is about something simple and powerful: giving people the tools to move forward. When someone strengthens their English, builds their digital skills, sharpens their numeracy, or returns to learning after time away, doors open.

The Australian Government’s SEE program rests on a clear idea: when people gain strong foundational skills, everyone benefits. Employers gain capable workers. Communities grow stronger. Individuals discover abilities that carry them further than they imagined.

Across the ACT, thousands have already stepped forward through Free TAFE and related programs. Yet numbers only tell part of the story, so let me share two that bring the impact to life.