Ending the Unfair Tricks and Traps that Exploit Consumers by Andrew Leigh MP
5.30pm Monday, 1 December, 2025
Manning Clark House
This presentation will outline the Government’s plan to protect Australians from the tricks and traps of unfair trading practices. It will highlight the dangers of subscription schemes that are easy to enter but difficult to escape, hidden fees that appear mid-purchase, and manipulative “dark patterns” that distort consumer choice. These practices cause real harm: they waste time, drain household budgets and erode trust in markets, while disadvantaging honest businesses that compete fairly. By banning unfair trading practices against consumers, the Government is closing loopholes, ending manipulation and ensuring the marketplace serves Australians, rather than exploiting them.
The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities & Treasury
Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities & Treasury, and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Prior to being elected in 2010, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. He holds
a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in Arts and Law. Andrew is a past recipient of the Economic Society of Australia's Young Economist Award and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social
Sciences.
His books include Disconnected (2010), Battlers and Billionaires: The Story of Inequality in Australia (2013), The Economics of Just About Everything (2014), The Luck of Politics (2015), Choosing Openness: Why Global Engagement is Best for Australia (2017), Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Changed Our World (2018), Innovation + Equality: How to Create a Future That Is More Star Trek Than
Terminator (with Joshua Gans) (2019), Reconnected: A Community Builder's Handbook (with Nick Terrell) (2020), What's the Worst That Could Happen? Existential Risk and Extreme Politics (2021), Fair Game: Lessons From Sport for a Fairer Society and a Stronger Economy (2022) and The Shortest History of Economics (2024).
Andrew is a keen Ironman triathlete and marathon runner, and hosts a podcast called The Good Life: Andrew Leigh in Conversation, about living a happier, healthier and more ethical life. Andrew is the father of three sons - Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary, and lives with his
wife Gweneth in Canberra. He has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1991.
Refreshments will be served after the presentation
Tickets: $15 MCH members and concession and $20 for non-members
Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/DHDVW