Over the years, both inside and outside of Parliament, Andrew has worked for:
- affordable housing
- strengthening Australia’s environmental law (which enabled the wasteful and destructive Traveston Dam project to be stopped)
- a fair go for refugees and migrants, highlighting the deep and positive contribution of migration/migrants and refugees
- improving honesty, accountability, transparency and public involvement in politics
He was the also first federal politician to set up a genuine blog (in 2004), enabling open two-way communication with members of the public.
An active member of many community organisations, Andrew's voluntary roles have included:
- Vice President, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) Qld;
- Vice President, Amnesty International Queensland / Northern NSW Branch;
- Board Member of the Multicultural Development Association (Qld);
- Management Committee member of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (Qld);
- Radio announcer, Brisbane community radio 4ZZZ-FM
- Long serving member of the Tenants’ Union of Queensland Steering Committee (in the 80s/90s)