Andrew Leigh
Fenner · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“I move: That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969 , it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation—Deco…”
“The proposed works were referred to the public works committee on 3 March 2026. Following its inquiry, the committee has recommended that the House of Representatives resolve that it is expedient to carry out the proposed works.”
“When the Leader of the Opposition became leader, getting rid of the first woman to head the Liberal Party, he said that his party needed to 'change or die'. I don't think many Australians thought that they were going to choose door 2, but that's what's happening right now. The modern Liberal Party won't change, and it's choosing to die.”
“From today, Labor is putting in place six months of paid parental leave. But the shadow treasurer has called paid parental leave 'a very bad scheme', saying: … that is not my choice that women have children; it's not. It's genetic. From today, Labor is delivering tax cuts for every working Australian.”
“But when asked the same question, the Leader of the Opposition said things like, 'I don't quite know what you mean by that question,' and, 'Do you want to define it for me?' and, 'There's all these vague words running around.' Asked seven times, he couldn't back in multiculturalism.”
“For small business, we've changed the R&D tax credit so that every dollar of R&D tax credit drives 20 per cent more research and development. For Australians who are looking to afford medicines, the health minister has been putting a record number of drugs through the PBS and driving record funding through our hospital system.”
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“Schedules 4 and 5 to the bill make minor machinery and other technical amendments to various laws in the Treasury portfolio to ensure those laws operate in accordance with policy intent, improve administrative outcomes, remedy unintended consequences and correct technical and drafting defects. Schedule 6 to the bill will maintain protections for consumers and constrain market misconduct through extending the sunset date of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Act provisions to 1 January 2031. The amendment supports the ongoing efforts to improve electricity affordability and protect consumers in the energy market and complements other initiatives as part of the energy transition. Schedule 7 of the bill extends the $20,000 instant asset write-off until 30 June 2026.”
“This reform will allow the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to assure charities and donors that it is acting on issues of public concern and strengthening compliance to build the necessary public trust and confidence for donors and philanthropists to increase their support for the sector. Schedule 3 changes the frequency of the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority's review cycles from biannually to every five years. This change will enable the authority to conduct more comprehensive reviews into our financial system regulators and allow the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority sufficient time to respond to recommendations made by the authority.”
“Schedule 1 to the bill further supports corporate transparency by providing greater access to beneficial ownership information to interested members of the public, including providing journalists and academics, who play a key role in initiating and encouraging public debate, with fee-free access to tracing notice registers. Overall, a stronger beneficial ownership disclosure regime will assist regulators and law enforcement to address tax evasion, money laundering and other financial crime facilitated by complex ownership arrangements. Schedule 2 to the bill allows the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to disclose information about new or ongoing investigations where necessary to prevent or minimise the risk of significant harm.”
“They also bring Australia into greater alignment with the corporate ownership disclosure requirements over a number of comparable jurisdictions. The changes will improve market efficiency by reducing information asymmetry and increasing market integrity, improving investors' access to information and supporting a more efficient allocation of resources. They will also better support company directors and other interested stakeholders to identify when a person or group of associates might be building up an influential stake in their company.”
“Additional provisions ensure robust reviews of financial regulators, maintain consumer protections in the energy market and make technical amendments to keep the law operating as intended. Together those reforms promote investment, transparency and accountability, the foundations of stronger productivity and public confidence. Let me briefly give the House an overview of the schedules. Schedule 1 improves transparency of ownership of some of Australia's biggest and most influential businesses. These amendments close loopholes and disclosure requirements and provide the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with the tools it needs to quickly and efficiently encourage and shore up compliance.”
“It covers corporate disclosure, charity regulation, financial oversight, energy market protections and taxation. A standout provision for small business is the extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off until the middle of 2026. By allowing immediate deductions, we lower the barrier to investment and help ensure Australian workers have the tools they need to thrive. The bill also reinforces the importance of transparency. In the corporate sector, clearer ownership information supports fairer decision-making and better governance. For civil society, empowering the charities regulated to speak publicly when misconduct is suspected helps maintain trust in the sector. In both business and the not-for-profit world, transparency is the oxygen that accountability needs.”
“What a terrific speech we just heard from the member for Moreton. I would like to thank her and all those members who have contributed to the debate: the members for Fairfax, Bennelong, Monash, Maribyrnong, New England, Griffith, Mackellar, Curtin, Barton, Ryan, Cowan, Wentworth, Warringah and Chifley. There have been wide-ranging speeches focusing on stories and on policy, and the House has been better for the debate and the important conversation about charities, which too rarely comes to this House. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025 brings together a suite of measures aimed at strengthening confidence in our markets, improving the performance of regulators and supporting long-term economic growth.”
“The scope of works includes a new reception area, shared meeting facilities, demolition of existing modular and fixed built form on the work floors, construction of new enclosed spaces and workstations, new staff amenities including kitchens and breakout spaces, and the reconfiguration or replacement of building services. The estimated total cost of the works is $39.93 million dollars excluding GST. The works must be referred to, considered by and reported on to both houses of the parliament by the public works committee before work may commence. Subject to parliamentary approval, the works are expected to commence in June 2026 for completion in December 2027. I commend the motion to the House. Question agreed to.”
“I move: That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969 , the following proposed work be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works for consideration and report: Attorney-General's Department—Proposed fit-out of existing leased premises at 3-5 National Circuit, Barton, Australian Capital Territory. The Attorney-General's Department is proposing to fit out existing leased premises at 3-5 National Circuit, Barton, ACT to enable the department to consolidate from three buildings into one in Canberra.”
“Assets costing $20,000 or more can be placed into the small business simplified depreciation pool and depreciated at 15 per cent per year in the first income year and 30 per cent each income year thereafter. Economic research into the benefits of accelerated depreciation dates back to the seminal work in 1967 of Robert Hall and Dale Jorgenson in the American Economic Review . Having studied under Dale Jorgenson, who died in 2022, it is a pleasure to be introducing a measure that follows in his intellectual legacy. By allowing an immediate deduction, the instant asset write-off provides a sharper incentive for small businesses across the economy to invest in new equipment and technology, helping boost their productivity. Full details of the measures are contained in the explanatory memorandum. Debate adjourned.”
“It complements other initiatives as part of the energy transition and ensures that consumers remain protected. The relevant provisions are outlined in schedule 6, which detail the legislative amendments required to extend the sunsetting date of the consumer protections to 1 January 2031. Schedule 7 of the bill amends the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to extend the $20,000 instant asset write-off until 30 June 2026, to improve cash flow and reduce compliance costs for small business. Up to 4.1 million small businesses, with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million, will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 until 30 June 2026. The $20,000 threshold will apply on a per asset basis, so small businesses can instantly write off multiple assets.”
“The value provided by existing consumer protections in the energy market was recently reinforced by the review into the effectiveness of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Act 2019. The review examined retail and wholesale consumer protections embedded in part XICA of the Competition and Consumer Act. It found that the provisions in part XICA, created through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Act 2019 had, on balance, likely been effective in constraining market misconduct and protecting consumers. To maintain those protections, the government is taking action to extend the sunset date of these provisions to 1 January 2031. This work is part of a broader strategy to support the energy transition while maintaining affordability and fairness.”
“Schedules 4 and 5 of the bill amend various laws in the Treasury portfolio to ensure those laws operate in accordance with policy intent, make minor changes to improve administrative outcomes and remedy unintended consequences, as well as correct technical and drafting defects. The Legislative and Governance Forum for Corporations was notified in relation to amendments in schedules 4 and 5 of the bill in accordance with clauses 506 and 507 of the Corporations Agreement 2002. The states and territories were notified in relation to amendments in schedule 5 of the bill in accordance with subclause 33(f) of the Intergovernmental Agreement on National Competition Policy 2024. Schedule 6 of the bill supports the Albanese government's ongoing efforts to improve electricity affordability and protect consumers in the energy market.”
“Schedule 3 changes the frequency of the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority review cycles. Increasing the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority review cycles to every five years will support the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority to deliver more comprehensive reviews of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulator Authority. It will facilitate the delivery of more considered recommendations than is possible under the current biennial review cycle, which will improve the effectiveness of our financial system regulators. Regulators will also have additional time to respond to recommendations between reviews, allowing future panels to assess implementation meaningfully and direct their focus more productively.”
“The Australian government has funded a new General Social Survey, adding questions on volunteering and cultural participation to sharpen our understanding of how giving, participation and purpose driven activity benefit communities. We've commissioned a once-in-a-generation Productivity Commission review of philanthropy and set about adopting its recommendations, including scrapping the $2-donation deduction threshold and consulting on increasing the minimum contribution for giving funds. We've begun work on the not-for-profit sector blueprint, whose recommendations span multiple portfolios across government. I thank the many charities and not-for-profits who joined Minister Plibersek and myself for a roundtable at Parliament House on 5 August to discuss boosting productivity in the charity sector.”
“Since coming to office, we have created a new pathway for community foundations to gain deductible gift recipient status and streamlined deductible gift recipient applications for environmental, harm-prevention, cultural and overseas aid organisations. We appointed widely respected sector expert Sue Woodward as charities commissioner. We refreshed the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Advisory Board, chaired by Sarah Davies, to better reflect the sector, bringing First Nations, CALD and youth voices to the table. We have been clear that charitable advocacy is welcome, and we have worked with states and territories to harmonise charitable fundraising rules across jurisdictions.”
“This adversely impacts public trust and confidence in the sector and in the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission as an effective regulator. This reform will allow the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to assure charities and donors that it is acting on issues of public concern and strengthening compliance, which will in turn boost public confidence that the sector is doing the right thing. By increasing public trust and confidence in charities and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, this reform will help to ensure donors and philanthropists continue their support for the sector. This will contribute to the government's commitment to doubling philanthropy by 2030. This builds on our government's work to strengthen Australia's civic fabric.”
“Australian listed and unlisted public companies must disclose the tax residency of their subsidiaries in their annual financial reports through a consolidated entity disclosure statement. Our government has implemented a world-leading public country-by-country reporting regime, requiring billion-dollar multinationals to disclose where they pay tax. Schedule 2 will allow the commissioner of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to make disclosures about new or ongoing investigations where the disclosure would prevent or minimise the risk of significant harm. Secrecy provisions currently prevent the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission from disclosing whether it is investigating alleged misconduct by a charity.”
“It will also give company directors and security-holders better visibility whenever someone may be seeking to build up influence over their companies. Schedule 1 of the bill further supports corporate transparency by providing greater access to beneficial ownership information to interested members of the public; including providing journalists and academics, who play a key role in initiating and encouraging public debate, with fee-free access to tracing notice registers. This measure builds on our government's corporate transparency achievements. Since 2022, Labor has implemented a suite of corporate transparency reforms aimed at curbing secrecy and strengthening accountability. Firms tendering for large government contracts are now required to disclose their country of tax residency.”
“Firstly, it broadens market disclosures to better capture interests arising through equity derivatives—closing a disclosure loophole and bringing Australia into greater alignment with many comparable international jurisdictions. It also strengthens the existing substantial holding and tracing notice regimes that govern the disclosure of interests in listed entities, while enhancing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's regulatory enforcement powers and the penalties it can seek to help ensure compliance. Better ownership information will improve market efficiency, including by improving investors' ability to conduct due diligence on prospective acquisitions, supporting a more efficient allocation of resources.”
“Other provisions of the bill ensure that reviews of our financial regulators are conducted with sufficient depth, that consumer safeguards in the energy market remain in place during the transition, and that the law continues to operate as intended through a set of technical amendments. Together, these measures promote investment, transparency and accountability—the conditions on which stronger productivity and public confidence ultimately rest. I turn now to each of the seven schedules in the bill. Schedule 1 to the bill will improve the transparency of ownership and control of entities listed on Australian financial markets.”
“In our corporate sector, greater clarity about who holds influence over listed companies supports fairer and more efficient decision-making and ensures that directors and investors can respond on the basis of accurate information. For the wider community, improved access to ownership information means that journalists, academics and others are better placed to shine light on potential concentrations of power. In civil society, too, openness matters. Allowing the charities regulator to speak more directly to the public where there are concerns of misconduct ensures that trust in the sector is not eroded by silence or uncertainty. In both domains—business and the non-profit sector—transparency provides the oxygen that accountability requires.”
“When firms are able to expand and upgrade their capital stock, they achieve what's known as capital deepening—more capital per worker—which is one of the surest routes to higher productivity. By allowing immediate deductions, this measure reduces the barrier to making those investments and helps ensure that Australian workers are equipped to do their job more efficiently. Boosting productivity is a central focus of our government—reflected in the Treasurer's recent Economic Reform Roundtable, a valuable national conversation aimed at delivering higher living standards for all Australians. The bill also recognises that strong markets depend on transparency.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill consists of measures designed to strengthen confidence in our markets, improve the way regulators operate, and support long-term economic growth. Its provisions span areas as diverse as corporate disclosure, the regulation of charities, oversight of financial regulators, energy market protections, and taxation. One measure of particular significance for productivity is the continuation of the $20,000 instant asset write-off until mid-2026. Its value lies in encouraging businesses to invest in new equipment and technology. Productivity is not only about working smarter, but also about working with better tools.”
“Our universities thrive because international researchers bring ideas and energy. Our hospitals and aged-care centres depend on migrant workers who care for our most vulnerable. So, when the voices of hate call for exclusion, we must answer with evidence and with pride: pride for an Australia where people from around the world come together to build something bigger than themselves, pride in a multicultural nation that's more open, more dynamic and more generous than those who peddle fear will ever understand. That's the real story of Australian immigration—not division but unity, not weakness but strength.”
“My friend Arsenio Balisacan, a senior official in the Philippines government, was one of the many international runners who joined the race. That's what it means to be a World Marathon Major. You welcome people from around the world. This weekend also saw the Canberra Raiders become NRL minor premiers for the first time in 35 years. The Raiders' line-up includes New-Zealand-born Josh Papalii, English-born Morgan Smithies and Samoan-born Ata Mariota. The Green Machine are stronger because they draw on migrant talent. Across the economy migrants are on average younger and more likely to start a business than Australian-born people are. They pay more in taxes than they draw in benefits. Migrants aren't just mouths to feed but muscles to build and minds to inspire.”
“Think of Frank Lowy, who arrived as a refugee from Hungary and went on to co-found Westfield; Tan Le, who came as a Vietnamese boat person at age four and is today a global leader in neurotechnology; Anh Do, who fled war-torn Vietnam and became one of Australia's best-loved writers; or astrophysicist Brian Schmidt, who built a global team to win a Nobel prize. Consider sport. At the very moment anti-immigration rallies were taking place, the Sydney Marathon was being won by Ethiopia's Hailemaryam Kiros, who ran the fastest marathon ever on Australian soil, and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. As we waited in the starting pen I chatted with athletes from India, Spain and the UK. The biggest cheer was for Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge.”
“Last weekend, a handful of speakers stood on the steps of our cities and shouted slogans against immigration. Their words weren't new. Some echoed the racist cries that have haunted Australia since the days when the White Australia policy was law. But their vision of a closed, fearful country isn't the Australia we live in today, because modern Australia is a multicultural success story. Nearly one in two Australians either was born overseas or had a parent who was. My wife was born overseas, so that includes our three children. Australia is home to hundreds of ancestries and we speak hundreds of languages in our homes. Surveys show that nine out of 10 Australians believe multiculturalism is good for Australia.”
“This is a mug. Don't be afraid. Don't be scared. It's a mug. Opposition members: Prop! The DEPUTY SPEAKER: If members want to shout at me as they leave the chamber, it will be regarded as highly disorderly. Assistant minister, I didn't see that, but I saw it at the tail end, and you aren't to have props at the despatch box. Member for Goldstein, you can sit down now. I'm assuming that's what your point of order was. Let's start again with a little less heat, and that includes interjections. Let's try it again. You talk about mugs and suddenly there's the member for Goldstein! The fact is those opposite—”
“I want to acknowledge Professor Budy Resosudarmo, the head of the ANU Indonesia Project, and the faculty who work within that project. Hal Hill has played a critical role in the ANU Indonesia Project throughout his career. He is somebody who has been a real mentor to me and to so many others within that project. Terima kasih banyak, Hal. The project's 60th anniversary saw speeches given by Stephen Kennedy, Dennis Richardson, Lisa Cameron, Mari Pangestu, Chatib Basri, Bambang Brodjonegoro, Ross Garnaut and Penny Wong. It reflects the strong standing in which the ANU Indonesia Project is held and the vital work that ANU does in strengthening the relationship between Australia and Indonesia.”
“Sport doesn't face a trade-off between fairness and excellence, and neither should the economy. Our objective as a government is to ensure that we lift everyone up and that we don't simply look at average measured productivity and worry it might go down if we move somebody from long-term joblessness into work. We recognise that it is the productivity of everyone that counts and that we need to have measures of productivity that better capture the vital work that is done in the care economy. In closing, can I just acknowledge an important milestone that passed this year. The ANU Indonesia Project has turned 60. The ANU Indonesia Project is run out of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU and been a jewel in the crown for the ANU.”
“The roundtable identified 10 areas of consensus: progressing work towards a single market to improve the federation; simplifying trade and tariffs; better regulation to cut the clutter; speeding up approvals in national priority areas; building more homes more quickly; making AI a national priority; attracting capital and deploying investment; building a skilled and adaptable workforce; creating a better tax system; and modernising government services. We understand the importance of ensuring that government is more productive as well. The work we're doing through Minister Gallagher is vital, as is the better evaluation of government programs. In some sense, the challenge that we face with productivity is akin to the challenge we face on the sporting field.”
“That philosophy is very much in accord with a government led by a prime minister who is the former infrastructure minister and who has a passionate commitment to seeing more homes built. While in the last parliament we fought the housing supply denialists to our left and right, we are getting on with the job of building—not only with the Commonwealth balance sheet but also in engaging with state, territory and local governments in order to ensure that the regulations don't stand in the way of construction. I'm sure Minister O'Neil will speak much more articulately than me in her contribution next.”
“We had Minister Tim Ayres; we had Minister Murray Watt; and, of course, we had Minister Clare O'Neil, who came in to discuss the significant challenges that she is grappling with in the housing sector and the vital work that she doing across local, state and territory governments in order to ensure that we build the houses we need. Many members will be familiar with Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's book A bundance , which emphasises the way in which a series of well-meaning regulations can together overlap to create a thicket of regulation which prevents us building the homes and the clean energy infrastructure and doing the research that advanced countries need.”
“All of these roundtable discussions fed into the Economic Reform Roundtable conducted here at Parliament House from 19 to 21 August. That roundtable was convened by the Treasurer, and the Assistant Treasurer and I were pleased to be in the room for the three days of the conversation. Twenty-nine hours sitting in a windowless room may not seem like everyone's idea of fun, but when you're talking about economic reform there is nowhere I would rather have been. I admire the way in which so many of the attendees took off their sectional interest hats and put on a national interest hat, engaging constructively on how we boost productivity and engaging in particular with those ministers who came into the room for particular parts of the discussion.”
“On 12 August, I was pleased to participate in a roundtable about productivity in Western Australia, organised by Tania Lawrence, alongside WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti. That discussion focused on the unique role of the resources sector within Western Australia but also on the importance of ensuring a diverse industrial base for Western Australia. Attendees contributed a wide range of ideas about technological uptake, boosting investment and how to ensure that Western Australians are ready for the jobs of the future. I was particularly impressed by the way in which Tania Lawrence had engaged so extensively with the attendees, spending at least half an hour with each of them beforehand and adeptly drawing together their contributions in order to make the most out of that roundtable.”
“I want to thank Tim Liu, Cassandra Goldie, Sarah Davies, Maiy Azize, Barry Sandison, Harry Greenwell, Eleanor Williams, Travers McLeod, Armine Nalbandian, Heidi Peterson, David Crosbie, Stephanie Harvey, Robyn Clough, Mary Ann Geronimo, Ian Hamm, Julian Elliott, David Spriggs, Graeme O'Connor, Jason Tabarias, Jo Barraket, John Hartman, Marion Bennett, Kristy Muir, Krystian Seibert, Andrew Colvin, Nick Tebbey, Mel Parks, James Toomey, Saffron Zomer, Toby O'Connor, Tanya von Ahlefeldt, Rob Sturrock, Kristen Stevenson, Angus McFarland, Karen Douglas, Julia Keady, Robyn Mildon, Adrian Appo, Paul Conroy, Geraldine Menere, Tabatha Feher and Michael Carmody for their participation in that charities and not-for-profits productivity roundtable.”
“That roundtable explored how governments can support the sector with a focus on long-lasting, positive intergenerational change, including for First Nations people, people with disability and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. There was a discussion around evaluation and how we ensure that government programs are better evaluated, and a discussion around IT capability and the recognition that we need to do more in order to ensure that charities and not-for-profits are protected against cyber threats and are able to make the very most of the artificial intelligence revolution.”
“I thank all of those economists from academia and 'think tank land' for the thoughtful way in which they engaged in that discussion. As a professor-turned-politician I very much see one of my roles in this place as being to act as a conduit from the world of ideas to the world of power and welcome those who have raised their ideas and will continue to be part of that conversation. On 5 August, the Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek, and I held a productivity roundtable with charities and not-for-profits. The focus of that roundtable was to ensure how the not-for-profit sector can deliver more impact—not by compromising values or chasing metrics but through better systems, smarter incentives and greater capability.”
“That conversation was the most wonkish productivity discussion I've participated in. Among the ideas discussed were the importance of ensuring we get the very most out of assets, how we might use the electricity grid in a way that ensures we don't have to build too much excess capacity for those few hours a year when the grid is peaking out and how we make the very most of our transport network to ensure we don't need to build roads that are only at their maximum capacity for an hour a day. Also emphasised was the notion of investment and how we make smart investments and evaluate those investments using rigorous processes such as randomised trials, as we've sought to do through the establishment of the Australian Centre for Evaluation.”
“On 7 August I drew together a range of economists from universities and think tanks to focus on the drivers of productivity growth. We met in Melbourne and held sessions on technology and human capital, investment and allocative efficiency. I want to thank the many attendees, including Bob Breunig, Kristen Sobeck, Jenny Gordon, Timothy Moore, Beth Webster, David Byrne, Miranda Stewart, Simon Loertscher, Cassandra Winzar, Flavio Menezes, Janeen Baxter, John Quiggin, Michael Brennan, Silvia Griselda, Brendan Coates, Aruna Sathanapally, Deborah Cobb-Clark, Richard Holden, John Piggott, Alison Preston, Janine Dixon, Leonora Risse, Peter Tulip, Guy Debelle, Alberto Posso, Ingrid Burford, John Asker—who joined us from UCLA—John Fingleton, Dan Andrews, Henry Sherrell and Saul Eslake.”
“I would like to thank the attendees: Blake Conor Proberts, Devin Bowles, Abid Khan, Michael Thomson, Hala Batainah, Margot McNeill, David Marshall, Mandy Hill, George Kadmos, Adam Fennessy, Matthew Kadelaars, Markus Doherty, Janet Salisbury, Maddy Northam, Corinne Dobson, Anna-Maria Arabia, Andrew Meares, Greg Harford, Michael Matthews, Alison Percival, Frank Porreca, Garry Watson, Kathy Ehrmann, Michael Hamill, Keith Cantlie and Emma Sparks, as well as Bill Shorten, the vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra. The discussion was free-flowing and thoughtful, engaged in topics such as how the ACT can help to serve as the nation's social laboratory and how we can use our willingness to be at the cutting edge of reform to provide productivity lessons that benefit the nation as a whole.”
“The Treasurer's economic reform roundtable was preceded by a range of productivity roundtables across the country—more than 40 in all—and I was pleased to participate in a number of those. On 13 August, the ACT Labor federal representatives—Katy Gallagher, David Smith, Alicia Payne and myself—held a roundtable focusing on how we boost productivity, resilience and budget sustainability.”
“As the previous speaker did, I acknowledge the immense support that I receive from my family: my parents, Barbara and Michael Leigh; my wife, Gweneth Leigh; and my three wonderful boys, Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary. Since being elected, the government has turned its focus to the issue of productivity. Productivity is a significant challenge in Australia, and the decade up to 2020 was the worst decade of productivity growth in the postwar era. The quarter in which our government came to office in 2022 saw a huge fall in productivity. Our government wants to boost productivity, because we recognise that this is the way we raise living standards and the way Australia can be more generous to those who are vulnerable here and overseas.”
“I want to acknowledge the other candidates who ran in that election—Bola Olatunbosun, Dani Hunterford and Elizabeth Kikkert—and to thank each of the 97,000 voters who participated. You might think that I'm approximating when I say '97,000 voters'. No, I'm being exact. There were precisely 97,000 voters in the last election in the electorate of Fenner. I want to thank my staff who worked on the campaign—my campaign manager, Kal Slater; my chief of staff, Nick Terrell; Blair Arnold; Bronwyn Asquith; Chris Davis, Cohen Elliott, Cullen Savle, Felicity Wilkins, Frances Kitt, Maria Neill and Meg Thomas—and my volunteers, including Christine Debu, Gerry Lloyd, Jo Corrigan, Naomi Nicholson and 93-year-old Trevor Smith.”
“It's a real pleasure to rise to speak in the address-in-reply debate following a remarkable election victory for the Albanese government. The Prime Minister spoke during the election campaign about the importance of kindness and about looking after the most vulnerable. That message resonated with the Australian community, and the number of seats that Labor now holds in the House of Representatives is higher than at any time in Australian history. The share of the seats is higher than at any time since 1943. I was really honoured in my own electorate of Fenner to receive a 6.4 per cent swing, with 53.8 per cent of the primary vote and 72.1 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.”
“We established the competition taskforce within Treasury, which has spearheaded the biggest reform of our merger laws in 50 years and a revamp of national competition policy, curtailing the abuse of non-compete clauses. There's work to deal with the problems that the supermarket duopoly can cause for both shoppers and suppliers. Labor's supermarket reforms are about ensuring a fairer deal for farmers and a fairer deal for families. This bill before the House is about ensuring a better deal for telecommunications customers. Everything this government does is focused on the best interests of Australians, and I commend the bill to the House.”
“We understand that, used well, these are tools for cyberconnecting, as Nick Terrell and I put it in a book called Reconnected a couple of years ago. By cyberconnecting, we can build stronger in-person communities and use the technologies to empower face-to-face engagement, not to supplant it. Labor understands the importance of a competition and consumer focused approach. You saw that at this very dispatch box two days ago, as the Treasurer brought down a budget which had competition as one of the core drivers of productivity. Productivity growth languished under the former government, and one of the ways in which we seek to turn that around is through competition and consumer reforms like this one before the House. Labor's competition and consumer agenda is an ambitious one. We make no apologies for that.”
“In effect, United States law—section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996—set 13 years old as the age for accessing social media. In Australia, we believe the rule ought to be 16, and I would be surprised if, over the coming years, other countries didn't move to that similar standard. This consumer protection focus is a core part of what the Albanese government have done within the telecommunications sector, but alongside that we are a government that is strongly pro research and innovation. We recognise the value of telecommunications innovation in serving Australians. We've strongly supported the 5G rollout and the movement towards more advanced devices. We want Australians to get the very best of artificial intelligence and of the improvements in telecommunications technologies.”
“This government too has put in place a world-first minimum age for accessing social media. That is a reform which is being watched closely around the world. International researchers such as Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge have praised the Australian approach. It recognises that kids should be allowed to be kids, to go out and kick a footy, play with their mates, play a board game and engage with friends, and that, increasingly, digital devices are robbing them of the childhood that previous generations enjoyed. The highly addictive nature of social media makes these rules appropriate, with, of course, a carve-out for activities such as mental health support services, education or science. The focus here is on the highly addictive, slot-machine-like social media sites. That consumer safeguard applies to those who are under 16.”