Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion to suspend standing orders to urgently debate the bill put forward, to ban gambling advertising, by the member for Goldstein. I thank her for bringing this on with urgency.

As a parent, it's incredibly distressing to see the prevalence of gambling advertising. It's incredibly urgent that we debate this bill today because we owe the Australian people leadership. That is what the purpose of this place is. We must step in. The government must step in and enact regulation and ensure there are protections in place when we have rampant harm occurring. That is what the gambling industry is. Let's call it out for what it actually is.

If I can draw on my sporting background, in the 1990s we realised that drugs in sport was a major issue, that it had major long-term health harm and implications. And we acted. Governments around the world acted around drugs in sport and gambling harm. But now, let's call it for what it is, gambling is the modern-day drug of sport. It is impacting the health of Australians, and sometimes children as young as 12 are being targeted by gambling advertising. We know it is impacting the enjoyment and participation in sport. It is a harm that is so great to Australians in our community. It is doing immense harm to Australians.

We spend more on gambling, per capita, than any other country—around $1,300 per month. In 2020-21 we lost over $25 billion in gambling. More importantly, we lost loved ones. Families and relationships broke down. People were physically hurt and abused. Mental health suffered. Over a third of Australians gamble in a typical month. The losses are 20 per cent higher than in other countries because of our sports betting advertising regulation.

Prior to 1993 you had gambling with the TAB. Then government stepped in. It deregulated and allowed gambling advertising on all sports. What we've seen is this accelerated growth of harm and impact in the community. Sports betting advertising is everywhere. It's on the TV. It's on social media. It targets people. It's on radio, print, jerseys, around the stadiums and is pushed to people non-stop.

We're world leaders in gambling, and by urgently debating and passing this bill we can be world leaders in preventing these harms. We did it with tobacco. We led the way. We can do it for gambling. Stop gambling ads now, by debating this bill.

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