About

A father of three sons, Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary, Andrew lives with his wife Gweneth in Hackett.

Prior to being elected in 2010 as the federal member for Fraser, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University.

Andrew has written extensively on a range of subjects, including education, taxation and social policy. He also writes regularly for the Australian press.

Andrew holds a PhD in public policy from Harvard, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in Law and Arts. He has previously worked as a lawyer (including a stint as associate to former High Court Justice Michael Kirby), and as a principal adviser to the Australian Treasury.

Andrew is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, the only parliamentarian to be a fellow of one of the four national academies. In 2011, he received the 'Young Economist Award', a prize given every two years by the Economics Society of Australia to the best Australian economist under 40.

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

When not in the office, Andrew enjoys spending time with Gweneth and the boys. His favourite activities include jogging around the lake with Theodore in the stroller, and taking Sebastian along to play soccer.

A profile of Andrew in the Sydney Morning Herald

Download high-resolution headshot of Andrew.

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About Our Electorate

Named after Jim Fraser, Federal Member for the ACT between 1951 and 1970, the Federal Electoral Division of Fraser was created in 1974.

Jim Fraser with boys from Goulburn Boys Orphanage

Today the electorate encompasses the entirety of the ACT north of Lake Burley Griffin and the Molonglo River. Fraser also covers the Jervis Bay Territory.

Since Fraser's creation in 1974, the Australian Labor Party has consistently held the electorate.

Between 1996 and 1998 the ACT had three Federal electorates: Namadgi, Canberra, and Fraser.

After the 1996 election of John Howard as Prime Minister, Canberra's population declined relative to the rest of Australia.

With federal representation based on a quota system determined by population, the seat of Namadgi was abolished in 1998, leaving the ACT with only two federal seats.

The redistribution from Namadgi to the seats of Canberra and Fraser saw the ACT with the highest number of voters per electorate. Currently, Fraser is the second most populous electorate in Australia, with an enrolment of 123,444 people. Fraser residents also tend to be younger than the national average. In the most recent census, the median age of people in Fraser was 33, compared to a national average of 37.

Members:

Ken Fry (1974-1984)

John Langmore (1984-1997)

Steve Dargavel (1997-1998)

Bob McMullan (1998-2010)

Andrew Leigh (2010-)