Andrew Leigh

Early life and education

Both Leigh's parents are academics and both came from homes of social activists "in the Christian socialist tradition". Leigh's maternal grandfather, a boilermaker and Methodist lay preacher, used the family's spare room to shelter a constant stream of refugees from places like Cambodia and Chile, who were escaping the regimes of Pol Pot and Augusto Pinochet.

Leigh's early years of education were in Sydney, Melbourne, Malaysia and Indonesia before completing secondary education at James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, New South Wales. He graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in 1994, and a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours in 1996. He then obtained a Master of Public Administration degree and a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, where his thesis was "Essays in poverty and inequality". At Harvard, Leigh was a Doctoral Fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Centre for Social Policy from 2002 to 2004, and a Frank Knox Fellow from 2000 to 2004.

Leigh has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1991.

Leigh is one of at least ten MPs in the 47th Parliament of Australia who possesses a PhD, the others including Anne Aly, Jim Chalmers, Andrew Charlton, Daniel Mulino, Jess Walsh, Carina Garland, Adam Bandt, Mehreen Faruqi, Anne Webster and Helen Haines.

Professional career

Before entering politics, Leigh worked as a lawyer for Minter Ellison in Sydney and Clifford Chance in London from 1995 to 1997. He was then associate to Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia from 1997 to 1998. Leigh has said that he "probably learnt more from (Kirby) than anyone except for my parents" He was senior trade adviser to Shadow Minister for Trade Senator Peter Cook from 1998 to 2000, and research fellow with the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. in 2001. Leigh also served as a principal adviser to the Australian Treasury from 2008 to 2009.

Academic career

Leigh was Professor of Economics at the Australian National University from 2004 to 2010. He also had several visiting appointments at the University of Melbourne, New York University, the Research Institute of Industrial Economics and the University of Michigan. Over his academic career, Leigh has published over 100 journal articles in the disciplines of economics, public policy and law and over 200 opinion pieces. Since entering parliament in 2010, he has authored or co-authored ten books.

Political career

In the 1995 NSW election, Leigh stood as the Labor candidate for the New South Wales state seat of Northcott, receiving an 8-point swing, but nonetheless losing by a large margin to Barry O'Farrell of the Liberal Party. Since then, O'Farrell occasionally sends Leigh "lovely little handwritten congratulations" for life milestones.

On 24 April 2010, Leigh was selected as Labor's candidate for the Australian federal seat of Fraser following the announced retirement of Bob McMullan. Fraser was a safe Labor seat. Leigh was subsequently elected in the Australian federal election held on 21 August 2010.

Gillard government ministry

In 2013, Leigh served as the government spokesperson on Opposition costings. Leigh was then promoted into the Ministry of Julia Gillard on the 25 March 2013 as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister following a Cabinet reshuffle in the wake of a failed leadership challenge on Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Leigh, a supporter of Gillard, lost this position after the June 2013 Labor leadership spill.

Shorten and Albanese shadow ministry

After the 2013 federal election, Leigh was appointed by Bill Shorten as Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Competition. After the 2016 federal election, Leigh continued as the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and added the portfolios of Shadow Minister for Competition and Productivity, Shadow Minister for Charities and Not-for-Profits, and Shadow Minister for Trade in Services.

After the 2019 federal election, Leigh was dropped from the outer ministry of the Shadow Ministry of Anthony Albanese due to his decision to remain factionally unaligned. Leigh however was appointed to the parliamentary secretary-level positions of Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Shadow Assistant Minister for Charities.

Albanese government ministry

After the 2022 federal election, Leigh was appointed the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. In this role, he has criticised the lack of dynamism in the Australian economy, and the decline in social capital in the Australian community. In May 2023, Leigh was appointed Assistant Minister for Employment. Following the re-election of the Albanese government in the 2025 federal election, Leigh was appointed Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury to the second Albanese ministry.

In July 2025, Leigh approved Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status for Equality Australia after prior rejections by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and the Federal Court. The approvals were granted under ministerial discretion following public lobbying, including a written request by Equality Australia's CEO, Anna Brown. At the time of the decision, Equality Australia was collecting tax-deductible donations via the HIV/AIDS charity Thorne Harbour Health, a practice that drew formal complaints to the ACNC and the Australian Taxation Office. Equality Australia defended the partnership as a lawful auspice arrangement.

Political views

Leigh identifies as a social democrat, but within the Australian Labor Party he is aligned to no faction. He has argued that Labor MPs should have more autonomy to dissent from caucus decisions. In a 2002 book he co-edited with the political scientist David Burchell, The Prince's New Clothes: Why Do Australians Dislike Their Politicians? Leigh suggested a more aggressive media, which covers politics like sport and gossip, and a general breakdown in "interpersonal" trust were largely responsible for politicians' falling stocks.

In making his first speech, he identified the American Democratic Senator, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, as a role model. In the central part of his speech, he spoke about the Australian Project:This Australian project is not finished. It’s not something that stopped with the end of the First World War or with the death of Ben Chifley....To me, the Australian project is about encouraging economic growth, while ensuring that its benefits are shared across the community. It is about making sure that all Australians have great public services, regardless of ethnicity, income or postcode. And it is about recognising that governments have a role in expanding opportunities, because no child gets to choose the circumstances of their birth.

Economic growth

Leigh believes the "passion for raising living standards" is part of the Australian identity. He believes growth comes with free markets and innovation — and he strongly identifies with the liberalism of Australia's second Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin. In 2019, Leigh claimed the beliefs of the contemporary Australian Labor Party was that of social liberalism. Leigh credits Labor to being the inheritor of small-l liberalism in Australia, and that "social liberals have been cast out of the Liberal Party of Australia". In the digital age, that liberalism means a market that is free to develop technological innovation, even with its "creative destruction". With his co-author Joshua Gans, Leigh has argued that the state must be wary of making entrepreneurs face prohibitively high costs, even as they face high chance of failure.

Community

When Leigh went to Harvard for post-graduate research, he studied under the social scientist Robert Putnam, who had published the major work on declining social capital in America, Bowling Alone. Leigh has observed that Australians also 'bowl alone', as they are financially stretched, time poor, and unable to make regular commitments. Leigh is concerned that online communities have actually created more alienation for Australians, but this can be ameliorated when the state encourages volunteering and community groups.

Opportunity

Inequality is a key concern for Leigh, whose research has indicated that inequality is at a 75-year high within Australia. Though Leigh maintains that inequality is not automatically a bad thing in itself, it does concern him in practice because he believes that "rising inequality strains the social fabric". As a result, Leigh advocates some redistribution of wealth, in order to maintain opportunity for people. Leigh particularly wants to see university made more affordable than it is for most young people now.

Honours and awards

Leigh delivered the 2004 Garran Oration of the Institute of Public Administration Australia. In 2006 he was awarded the Best Discussant Award at the Annual PhD Conference in Economics and Business in 2006 and the Early Career Award by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Also in 2011 Leigh was appointed a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. In 2011, Leigh was awarded the Economic Society of Australia's Young Economist Award. This award, presented once every two years, is given to "honour that Australian economist under the age of forty who is deemed to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge". In 2022, Leigh was awarded the Accountability Round Table's John Button integrity award.

Sport

Leigh is the first sitting Australian politician to complete the following:

• The six World Marathon Majors (Berlin, Tokyo, Boston, London, Chicago and New York)
• The Comrades Ultramarathon
• The Cradle Mountain Run
• The three Australian Ironman Triathlon events

His best marathon time is 2:42:48, in the 2017 Tokyo Marathon, and he has run all six marathon majors in under three hours. Leigh's best Ironman time is 10:48:11 in the 2021 Cairns Ironman.

In an article in Men's Health, he described his favourite running routes in each Australian capital city. Leigh races as a supporter of the Indigenous Marathon Foundation. Leigh discusses the role of sport in his life in his book Fair Game: Lessons from Sport for a Fairer Society and a Stronger Economy.

Personal life

Leigh is married to Gweneth Leigh, a landscape architect. As of 2024, they have been married for 20 years. Leigh met Gweneth during his time at Harvard University. They live in Canberra with their three sons, Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary. He has said that "both parenting and politics should be done with a sense of kindness".

Leigh is close friends with Justin Wolfers, a professor of economics at University of Michigan, and his wife Betsey Stevenson, the Obama administration’s key economic adviser.

In 2015, Leigh's family Christmas card went viral for his scowling toddler. Speaking of the Christmas card in 2019, Leigh said, "people didn’t want to see airbrushed politics; they preferred to know that our kids were just as grumpy as everyone else’s". Leigh appeared on America's Today Show to discuss the photograph.

Bibliography

Books

Critical studies and reviews of Leigh's work

;Reconnected

References

References

1. "Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP".
2. Friedman, Joseph. (15 February 2024). "Andrew Leigh: A refreshing and unusual path to politics". Law Society Journal Online.
3. (2010-10-01). "Trading in the lectern for a bully pulpit".
4. Armstrong, Amanda. (10 August 2010). "Meet the candidate: Andrew Leigh". [[Radio National.
5. (26 August 2020). "In Conversation with Andrew Leigh - Author of 'Carving with the Grain'". Evatt.
6. "Essays in poverty and inequality (Australia) [microform]". National Library of Australia.
7. "Curriculum Vitae". Andrew Leigh.
8. West, Andrew. (2 October 2010). "Trading in the lectern for a bully pulpit". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
9. "About Andrew".
10. "Pathways to Parliament". Fairfax Media.
11. (2014-09-05). "The very different politician – Andrew Leigh".
12. (1 July 2013). "The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP". [[Parliament of Australia]].
13. "ResearchGate Andrew Leigh".
14. {{Cite NSW election. (1995)
15. Maiden, Samantha. (26 April 2010). "Blow to factions in Labor Canberra preselection". [[The Australian]].
16. "Division Profile – Fraser". [[Australian Electoral Commission]].
17. Irvine, Jessica. (23 August 2010). "First-timers break the mould". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
18. Mosley, Lisa. (25 March 2013). "Andrew Leigh takes on new political role". ABC News.
19. Peake, Ross. (27 June 2013). "'Heavy heart' but I back Rudd as PM: Kelly". [[The Canberra Times]].
20. (1 July 2013). "Second Rudd Ministry". [[Commonwealth of Australia]].
21. (30 May 2019). "Canberra Labor MP Andrew Leigh falls foul of factions, moves to backbench". [[The Canberra Times]].
22. Rice, Stephen. (31 July 2025). "Knocked back on tax break status, Equality Australia uses someone else's". [[The Australian]].
23. Bashan, Yoni. (29 July 2025). "Some more equal than others? Equality Australia's free ride to tax free".
24. Robinson, Geoffrey. (7 November 2013). "Book review: Not Dead Yet – What Future for Labor?".
25. (18 October 2010). "Governor-General's Speech Address in Reply".
26. (2010-10-28). "Deakin liberalism: a legacy not best replicated today".
27. (29 June 2019). "Social liberalism fits Labor". The Saturday Paper.
28. King, Richard. (15 May 2020). "Risk, rewards of innovation". [[The Australian]].
29. "The Tocsin {{!}} Issue 9, February 2020".
30. (2020-10-26). "Reconnecting communities from 'disconnection disaster'".
31. Knight, Genevieve. (27 September 2015). "FactCheck Q&A: is Australia the most unequal it has been in 75 years?".
32. Leigh, Andrew. (2020-10-29). "A proper COVID-19 recovery must start with big thinking in parliament".
33. (2006). "Annual Report". [[Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia]].
34. (2011). "Young Economist Award". The Economic Society of Australia.
35. (6 September 2022). "Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP".
36. . ["Six Star Finisher Hall of Fame"](https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/six-star/hall-of-fame). *Abbott*.
37. . ["Andrew Leigh - Ultra Marathon Statistics"](https://statistik.d-u-v.org/getresultperson.php?runner=1528572). *DUV*.
38. . ["Andrew Leigh - Ultra Marathon Statistics"](https://statistik.d-u-v.org/getresultperson.php?runner=1528572). *DUV*.
39. . ["Andrew Leigh - Athlinks"](https://www.athlinks.com/athletes/406946988/results).
40. . ["Andrew Leigh – Ironman Port Macquarie Results"](https://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/races/ironman-australia-2024/events/1/results/individuals/851). *Ironman*.
41. "東京マラソン2017 大会結果 – 東京マラソン 2017 – 東京がひとつになる日。".
42. . ["Six Star Finisher Hall of Fame"](https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/six-star/hall-of-fame). *Abbott*.
43. . ["Andrew Leigh - Athlinks"](https://www.athlinks.com/athletes/406946988/results).
44. (6 October 2022). "These Are My Favourite Running Routes In Each Australian Capital City".
45. Leigh, Andrew. (2024-01-18). "Instagram - Andrew Leigh MP".
46. Leigh, Andrew. (2019-01-16). "Political parenting can be mortifying – but the imperfections can be glorious". The Guardian.
47. (2023-12-22). "This politician's Christmas card STILL makes us laugh: See why".