Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the suspension of standing orders to debate this bill because gambling companies have sucked hundreds of billions of dollars out of Australian communities and it's getting worse. Figures compiled by the Alliance for Gambling Reform show that Australians gamble 20 per cent more online than any other country in the world, and in 2021 we lost $11.4 billion to pokies. My home state of Queensland has sadly surpassed Victoria as the second-biggest pokie state in the country, with more than $2.7 billion in losses and with residents within the Brisbane City Council local government area losing $591 million in 2021 alone.

The gambling advertising that is saturating our media landscape is harmful and dangerous. It is particularly dangerous for young people, but our governments are doing nothing to stop it. Of course, we welcome the minor steps that have been proposed or taken, whether it's the ban around sporting events or a ban on gambling using credit cards. The Liberal Party have recently suggested some minor changes—ones this Labor government has yet to even engage on—but these are fiddling at the margins when our communities need urgent action. There is a clear reason why the old parties haven't taken action on regulating gambling in advertising. Both the major parties have accepted more than $9 million in donations from the gambling industry over the last two decades. Political donations from the gambling industry amounted to $2.165 million last year alone, which was a 40 per cent increase on the previous year.

The Greens are the only political party with a clear, comprehensive platform to take action on gambling. We want to see a national gambling regulator to ensure a consistent approach rather than a patchwork of a regulation that gambling companies and casinos can exploit. We want to see a universal and mandatory precommitment system to protect those at risk from gambling harm. We want transparency about the impacts of gambling, starting with clear reporting on which local government areas are hardest hit by the gambling companies. We want a ban on all gambling advertising, including street signage, TV, radio and online ads. Finally, the gambling industry should not be able to sponsor sporting teams and major events. These changes would make a real difference in people's lives.

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