Portfolio — 31 March 2026

The Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, Dr Andrew Leigh, made two distinct parliamentary contributions on 31 March 2026, covering a matter of public importance on gas and energy transition and a separate exchange on Medicare and medicines affordability — together spanning the Treasury, resources, energy, and health dimensions of the government's policy agenda.

On the matter of public importance, Dr Leigh positioned gas as an essential bridging fuel accounting for roughly a quarter of Australia's energy needs, with direct dependence across manufacturing and the production of cement, bricks, glass, fertiliser, and EV batteries [TA-260331-house-66782c600be9:s040]. The government's fiscal argument for PRRT reform was central to his contribution: the 2023 decision to cap petroleum resource rent tax offsets at 90 per cent of PRRT income brought west coast gas projects into liability and is forecast to collect $5.4 billion over the four years to 2028-29, against a backdrop of oil and gas company tax payments rising from an annual average of $1.1 billion in the five years to 2021 to $10.4 billion in 2023-24 [TA-260331-house-66782c600be9:s040].

The portfolio approach frames these tax reforms as fairness measures alongside the broader net-zero transition, with gas serving as backup for variable renewable energy.

The fuel supply crisis — attributed directly to United States and Israeli military action in Iran — drew the most operationally specific response in the parliamentary debate [TA-260331-house-66782c600be9:s040]. Dr Leigh outlined a six-element government response: a four-level national coordination framework; appointment of a Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator; maximum $100 million penalties for petrol company breaches; a three-month halving of fuel excise; release of a fifth of Australian fuel reserves targeted at regional areas; and temporary changes to petrol and diesel standards to increase fuel flow.

The government's diplomatic strategy leans on relationships with Singapore and Korea for supply continuity and has encouraged both the United States and Israel to seek an early end to the conflict in Australia's economic interests.

In a later exchange on health, Dr Leigh shifted to the government's Medicare record, citing a target of nine in ten GP visits bulk-billed by 2030 and a record investment in rebates as the government's benchmark against declining bulk-billing rates under its predecessor [TA-260331-house-66782c600be9:s094]. He reported that the ACT has grown from 10 to 22 fully bulk-billing clinics since the government took office, with three federally funded additions including Next Practice Deakin and Macquarie General Practice in Gungahlin, the latter opened by 30 June 2026.

On medicines, the government reduced the general patient co-payment from $42.50 to $25 per script, introduced 60-day prescriptions for eligible medicines, and lowered the safety net threshold — measures that produced more than five million cheaper PBS scripts in the ACT alone and an estimated $46 million in patient savings [TA-260331-house-66782c600be9:s094].

The day's parliamentary record is notable for the breadth of policy territory Dr Leigh covered from the assistant ministerial role: energy and gas taxation, fuel supply crisis management with a direct geopolitical dimension, and health system affordability. The fuel supply and PRRT contributions both carry a cross-portfolio character — touching Climate and Energy, Resources, and Treasury simultaneously — consistent with the government's framing of gas reform as both a fiscal fairness and energy security instrument.