Andrew Leigh

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

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TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, WEEKEND FIRST EDITION WITH ALEX THOMAS
SATURDAY, 6 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: Australia's relationship with New Zealand, changes made to the recent budget, migration, AI.

ALEX THOMAS: And joining us live is Labor MP and Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh. Andrew, great to have you on the show. The Prime Minister meeting with Christopher Luxon up in Queensland. What do you think is going to be the main focus of those talks?

ANDREW LEIGH: The relationship with New Zealand is a strong one and we're engaging together on a range of fronts. Obviously, we work collaboratively on climate change. This is a conservative government committed to action on climate change and that work will continue. We're also firm advocates of open markets in New Zealand and Australia together have been working to reduce trade barriers, as we did in the most recent budget - continuing the important work of getting rid of tariffs for the benefit of all Australians.

ALEX THOMAS: The New Zealand Prime Minister having a bit of a dig, suggesting Australians’ unhappy with the recent negative gearing and CGT changes could head across the Tasman. Is that a serious concern or just a bit of banter?

ANDREW LEIGH: Look, I think there's always been a friendly relationship between the two leaders. I know the Prime Minister said to me recently how much he values that relationship that he has had with successive New Zealand leaders and how important that long standing relationship is. It transcends parties and partisanship and really does reflect the fact that Prime Minister Albanese has worked so constructively with his engagements and international leaders of all political stripes.

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

Tax Reform

House of Representatives,
Parliament House 

4 June 2026

The essential story of Australian policy reform is of moments in which Labor Governments make the hard choices, followed by fallow periods of Coalition Governments. Of those moments, in which Labor Governments have made tough policy choices, we've often been opposed by those opposite. They fought us on Medicare in every election from 1969 to 1993. They opposed the introduction of capital gains tax, they opposed the creation of universal super, and they opposed Labor's measures to put in place a clean energy future, so it's no surprise to see the forces of conservatism in Australia today opposing Labor's sensible changes to rein in the excesses of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount in order to put 75,000 more Australians into a home of their own.

This bill before the House will deliver a tax cut to all working Australians through the new working Australians tax offset. This is an important measure which rewards income from work. I did my PhD thesis on the US Earned Income Tax Credit and can attest to the benefits of a tax credit that is directed at income from labour. It boosts labour supply and creates stronger incentives for participation. This important tax cut for all working Australians is also backed up by the instant tax deduction, which ensures that Australians with modest tax affairs without big deductions don't need to go through the paperwork burden of maintaining receipts but get that automatic tax deduction every year.

The changes that we're making to rein in the excesses of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount are dealing with a problem that goes back decades. Negative gearing was put in place in 1936 and the capital gains tax discount in 1999. Together they acted to increase the incentives for investors to get into the market and caused at so many auctions investors to beat out first home buyers. Shortly after the changes were put in place by the Howard-Costello Government, we saw taxable rental income turn negative. Landlords on net were claiming more back from the taxpayer than the tax that they were paying. We saw at auction after auction first home buyers find that prices were just pushed out of reach and that they were beaten by investors at a chance to get a home of their own. Our homeownership rate steadily fell, particularly for younger Australians, and many experts called on parliamentarians to do the right thing and deal with the problem that had arisen.

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

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RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
TUESDAY, 2 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: National Anti-Corruption Commission; polling; housing; 2026 Budget

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Time to talk federal politics with the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and the Member for Fenner, Dr Andrew Leigh. Andrew, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Stephen, how are you?

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Very well. Now Andrew, we see on both sides of politics, travel entitlements used incorrectly from time to time. But beyond that, where was the evidence of wholesale corruption at a federal level that we needed this NACC?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, there were a number of scandals under the Morrison Government. You had the Paladin scandal, you had the sports rorts, you had car park rorts, you had the scandals around that required the resignation of Minister Bridget McKenzie.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: But again, coming back. But this is my point when, you know, when we're talking about car park rorts and sport rorts, this is just the other side of politics did something so therefore it's corrupt, it's not real corruption?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well Minister McKenzie stepped down because what was judged to have been a breach of the ministerial code of conduct. Under Robodebt, you certainly had people who took their own lives as a result of a terrible…

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Yeah but, but Andrew that's not corruption, that's bad policy?

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

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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO ILLAWARRA, BREAKFAST WITH MELINDA JAMES
TUESDAY, 2 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: Changes to leasing arrangements for Booderee National Park

MELINDA JAMES: Today is a very special day for the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community. There are changes to the leasing arrangements for Booderee National Park. As I keep saying, I think one of our more magical parts of what is already a pretty spectacular region. Have you ever spent beautiful nights sitting by a campfire near Green Patch, for example? So many beautiful, beautiful places, incredible beaches, absolutely pristine natural beauty. And of course, the traditional lands of the people of Wreck Bay. Well, the leasing arrangements will change. And to tell us more about how this is going to work, I'm joined by the Member for Fenner, which of course covers Wreck Bay, it being Jervis Bay territory – Andrew Leigh. Andrew Leigh, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Mel, great to be with you.

MELINDA JAMES: Yes, again. We spoke last week about not such happy bit of news for the Wreck Bay community in relation to the PFAS contamination and the pursuit of 3M, but now a much happier story to talk about. This was foreshadowed. I remember a little while ago, at the anniversary of Booderee National Park being handed back to the Wreck Bay community that these leasing arrangements would change. But what's going to be different?

ANDREW LEIGH: So this will increase the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council's share of revenue from 25 per cent to 50 per cent and it also increases the annual rents that are paid to reflect current market values. And that's ahead of a transition to sole management of Booderee by WBACC in the middle of 2028. So this is really a reflection of the extraordinary caring and custodianship that the local First Nations people deliver to Booderee National Park. As you say, a place of extraordinary beauty, source of jobs and revenue for the local community, and also that protection and custodianship that the local Indigenous community do so well.

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

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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH ROSS SOLLY
TUESDAY, 2 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: 2026 Budget; housing; productivity; Australian universities; faster and more reliable NBN for Canberrans

ROSS SOLLY: So the federal government's Budget sell continues today. I noticed Jim Chalmers is popping up all over the place convincing people that the Budget has the best interests of all Australians at heart. Andrew Leigh is the Member for Fenner, also the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, and joins us this morning.

Dr Andrew Leigh, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Ross, great to be with you.

ROSS SOLLY: Good to have you on the show as well. So I noticed in the last 24 hours we've seen that house prices have gone down in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra in the last few weeks. What do you attribute that to, Andrew Leigh, and do you think the Budget has had any impact on that?

ANDREW LEIGH: I think the most interesting thing Ross, has been that first home buyers are starting to beat out investors at auctions, and for people who've struggled for years to break into the property market for the first time, that's pretty good news.

ROSS SOLLY: So this is good, this is good news that house prices are going down in Canberra?

ANDREW LEIGH: Look, the correction we've seen is down over the recent month or two, but up over the year. Our modelling has our policies slowing the growth in house prices, not causing house prices to fall.

Most of this of course, is about housing supply which is why we've got $47 billion worth of measures projected to make a difference to 420,000 new homes. But also it's partly recalibrating the tax settings in ways that the experts have been calling on for years.

Senator The Hon Murray Watt
Minister for the Environment and Water
Senator for Queensland

Senator The Hon Malarndirri McCarthy
Minister for Indigenous Australians
Senator for the Northern Territory

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

Tuesday, 2 June 2026 

Lease Variation Strengthens Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council's Role In National Park Management

Changes to leasing arrangements for Booderee National Park in the Jervis Bay area have been agreed between the Australian Government and the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council (WBACC), strengthening First Nations park management and increasing revenue sharing arrangements.

The head lease is a comprehensive document setting out how the park is jointly managed between WBACC and the Australian Government through the Director of National Parks. The variation follows long-term discussions and negotiation between all parties.

The updated lease increases WBACC’s share of park revenue from 25 percent to 50 percent, and increases annual rents paid to WBACC to reflect current market values, strengthening benefit sharing.

Importantly, the variation recognises the Wreck Bay community’s long-held aspiration to assume sole responsibility for Booderee National Park, and sets out how the parties will work together in good faith to enable a transition to sole management of Booderee by WBACC by 31 May 2028.

This updated lease marks the first variation since 2003. 

The Hon Julie Collins MP
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

The Hon Anne Aly MP
Minister for Small Business

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

Tuesday, 2 June 2026

Supporting Farmers to Secure a Better Deal

The Albanese Government is supporting farmers and fresh food suppliers to secure a fairer deal when negotiating with large supermarkets.

Funding has been awarded to the National Farmers Federation and AUSVEG to deliver the Know Your Grocery Code program.

The program will provide free, high-quality training to fresh food suppliers across Australia to help them better understand their rights under the new mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.

It includes online and in-person workshops across metropolitan, regional and rural areas and will be accessible to all suppliers including rural producers and First Nation growers.

Fresh produce suppliers often face structural disadvantages in negotiations. Their products are perishable, growing cycles can be long, and many upfront costs cannot be recovered if fresh produce goes unsold. These factors can weaken bargaining positions when dealing with large buyers.

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

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TV INTERVIEW
ABC AFTERNOON BRIEFING, WITH PATRICIA KARVELAS
MONDAY, 1 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: AUKUS; 2026 Budget; housing; polling; Pauline Hanson and One Nation; Labor’s tax cuts

PATRICIA KARVELAS: For the government's view I want to bring in Andrew Leigh – another Andrew, the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition and Charities and just to note, we are standing by to hear from the Queensland Police about some counterterrorism charges which of course is a pretty important breaking story, so we'll bring that to you as soon as it's happening. Andrew Leigh, welcome.

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

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Just on where I ended there, I think it's only fair to start again with you, and that's these second‑hand subs that are not good enough. Andrew Hastie says we should have actually got a better deal. Why are we just getting some second‑hand subs when we're spending so much money on AUKUS?

ANDREW LEIGH: Patricia, when we came to office we were faced with a serious sustainment challenge. The Coalition, as you recall, had said that they would buy French submarines and then backed out of that and left us with a significant capability challenge.

So it's left to Labor to ensure that the Collins‑class submarines have that extension of life project and also that we're able to fill the gap between when the new AUKUS‑class submarines come in. That's an important measure that we put in place. Of course, if you were starting doing this afresh, you would have made better decisions in the 2010s, but this is the best deal for Australia from the situation we face now.

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

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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO ILLAWARRA, BREAKFAST WITH MELINDA JAMES
FRIDAY, 29 MAY 2026

SUBJECTS: Wreck Bay Community; PFAS contamination; Legal action against 3M

MELINDA JAMES: Andrew Leigh is the federal Member for Fenner, which oversees Wreck Bay and has been good enough to give us some of his time this morning. Andrew Leigh, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Mel, great to be with you.

MELINDA JAMES: Look, we heard a little bit from the Attorney-General earlier this morning about the Commonwealth's decision to pursue this but just tell our listeners now why the federal government is doing this?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well this is, as you said, the biggest case that the Commonwealth has brought and the action we're bringing is based on allegations that 3M withheld its own environmental testing that showed that there was an adverse environmental effect to the 3M firefighting foam, that they misrepresented its biodegradability and that they made misrepresentations around its impact on the environment.

As you know, the Commonwealth has settled for $22 million with people in the Wreck Bay community. Defence has spent millions of dollars around the country cleaning up the effects of these firefighting foam. And this is about us looking to recoup over a billion dollars that we have spent on remediation.

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

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RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO SYDNEY, DRIVE WITH THOMAS ORITI
THURSDAY, 28 MAY 2026

SUBJECTS: Albanese Government banning unfair trading practices; BTS tickets

THOMAS ORITI: If you don't know the band BTS, they're massive. They are, I guess, arguably the giants of K-Pop and they're coming to Australia, including a concert at Sydney Olympic Park in February next year. Two concerts I should say, in February 2027. But the race to get tickets is proving a bit controversial. Australian fans are accusing the ticketing giant, Ticketmaster of deploying predatory and crazy tactics. And they've urged people to lodge formal complaints with the ACCC.

Now they're annoyed because Ticketmaster hasn't detailed the pricing of the tickets ahead of the sale next week. They're not on sale yet, but fans want to know now. They have no idea about the pricing category. So, the different tiers of tickets you can buy and how much it is all going to cost. And they say that's unfair – it's manipulative. Why not just tell us the price now? Ticketmaster says the prices will be made available once the online waiting room as it's called, opens and those prices will not change. There won't be any of that dynamic pricing that we've heard about in the past. The Assistant Minister for Competition, Andrew Leigh is with us now to discuss this. Assistant Minister, good afternoon.

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

THOMAS ORITI: What's the big deal here? I mean, people are going to know how much a ticket is before they choose to pay the money. Why do they need to know the price so far in advance?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well if you're going to a concert and you're paying hundreds of dollars, then there might be some of your mates who are willing to go for that price and others who aren't and you want to be able to make your plans beforehand. Look, it's up to the ACCC to enforce the law but this looks pretty shonky to me. I'd like to see Ticketek providing prices well in advance. One of the things we've just done is introduced into Parliament a ban on unfair trading practices that outlaws practices that manipulate or unreasonably distort decision-making. So that's an additional protection in addition to the significant increases in fines for anti-competitive conduct that we've already legislated.