Category Archives: Andrew Leigh

ABS warned Albanese government that excluding LGBTQ+ questions risked the success of census

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Australian Bureau of Statistics also told MP Andrew Leigh not including questions on sexual orientation and gender would do ‘damage’

The Albanese government was warned that excluding questions on sexual orientation and gender identity from the census could increase feelings of exclusion in the LGBTQ+ community and even risk the success of the data collection exercise, newly released documents reveal.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics raised concerns in ministerial submissions about strong public criticism to scrapping the proposed questions, potential “damage” to relationships with LGBTQ+ expert groups advising on the census and limitations in the quality of data the census collects.

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‘Impossible’ to make policy for LGBTQ+ community without extra census questions, crossbenchers say

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Crossbench MPs demand explanation for government’s decision to drop proposed ABS questions about sexuality, gender diversity from census

Crossbench MPs are seeking an urgent explanation from the Albanese government about why it dumped new topics on sexuality and gender diversity from the next census – a decision that left the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras “deeply concerned and disappointed”.

The move, confirmed by the assistant minister for the Treasury, Andrew Leigh, on Sunday, comes more than a year after the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued its statement of regret over the distress felt by the LGBTQ+ community as a result of being left out of the census.

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Labor launches new body to evaluate public programs using randomised trials

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Assistant Treasury minister Andrew Leigh says Australian Centre for Evaluation could help save government money and make spending fairer

Mimicking the way pharmaceutical companies use data to develop new drugs could help save the federal government millions of dollars while also making spending fairer, according to the assistant Treasury minister.

Andrew Leigh will use a National Press Club speech on Tuesday to help launch the Australian Centre for Evaluation (ACE), a body funded in the May 2023 budget with an initial $10m over four years to design better policies.

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Labor vows to shake up ‘cosy monopolists’ with fines of up to $50m for anti-competitive behaviour

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Andrew Leigh says stopping ‘excessive market concentration’ is key to lifting competition to benefit workers and consumers

Australia’s economy needs a shake-up to ensure “cosy monopolists” don’t dominate the market, with the new minister for competition, Andrew Leigh, pledging to legislate tough new penalties of up to $50m for anti-competitive behaviour.

With stagnant wages growth and high inflation identified as key priorities for the new Albanese government, Leigh says preventing “excessive market concentration” will be a key focus of his role to encourage more competition to the benefit of both workers and consumers.

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Australia entering ‘second convict age’ as imprisonment rates soar

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Incarceration rates have risen 130% since 1985, according to new research by Labor MP and economist Andrew Leigh

Indigenous Australians are now more likely to be in prison than African-Americans, according to new research by Labor parliamentarian and economist Andrew Leigh warning that Australia has entered “a second convict age”.

Leigh’s new working paper finds that in 2018, around 43,000 Australians were in prison, a rate of 221 for every 100,000 adults – which he says is a significant jump since incarceration rates began climbing in 1985.

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