He is the son of cartoonist
Bill Leak and teacher Astrid, née Wiegand. In November 2019, Leak was appointed editorial cartoonist of
The Australian, a position held by his father until his death two years before. Leak's August 2020 cartoon of
Kamala Harris, the presumptive
Democratic vice presidential nominee in the
2020 election was deemed as offensive and racist by a number of politicians and journalists. The cartoon had used
Joe Biden's use of the phrase "little brown girls". In February 2021, Leak was awarded a $40,000 contract from the
Australian Department of Parliamentary Services to paint an official portrait of former prime minister
Tony Abbott. Leak submitted paintings to the
Archibald Prize in 2021 with a portrait of
Warlpiri Country Liberal Party politician
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and in 2025 of Jewish advocate
Alex Ryvchin. Neither were selected as finalists, although the
State Library of New South Wales bought the portrait of Price for about $20,000, but following some First Nations employees taking offence to the acquisition, the picture is not shown on the library's website and can only be viewed by appointment. == References ==