Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Wentworth for bringing these amendments to the parliament. I don't doubt the member's good intentions. The fact is that this is a broad-ranging set of proposals which deal with everything from taxation to issues that fall within the ambit of the Special Minister of State and, perhaps, even beyond the Commonwealth to state rules and regulations. Whilst I do appreciate and acknowledge her right to bring this forward, I note that this is the first time that the government is seeing this and that we will not be able to support this amendment at this time.

I thank the member for Curtin for her contribution. This is a government that will be judged on its delivery when it comes to harm minimisation, and I invite the honourable member to identify which incoming government has done more in the space of harm minimisation in 18 months than the Albanese government? We have before us an important bill, to ban the use of credit cards for online gambling, to bring this in line with land based gambling. The harm of this has been known for nearly three years. It is time that this legislation was passed. It is time that we moved forward with a ban so that people cannot bet with money they do not have in the online environment. It is time to get this done. This government has picked up a report that lay dormant under the previous government and is taking it forward.

I also invite honourable members to consider the fact that it's under this government that we have implemented the final stages of the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering in Australia and, most importantly, in relation to implementing the National Self-Exclusion Register. As I said, this is a government that will be judged on its delivery, and it is my signature, as minister, that is on the proclamation commencing BetStop. Let's look at what BetStop stop has done in the relatively short time since August 2023. Over 10,000 Australians have voluntarily registered themselves with BetStop. More than 80 per cent of those registered are under 40 years of age. And, so far, a third of people have registered for lifetime exclusion. The actions of this government are changing lives.

This is a multifaceted problem which had been left dormant for some 10 years under the previous government. The last time they tinkered with the advertising rules, it actually resulted in an increase in advertising in some aspects of broadcasting. We are going to get this right. We know the time and care that have been put into this report by the House of Representatives. It has 31 recommendations, which we welcome and which we're considering holistically. We're also assessing them to ensure that we get this done and that we get it done and implemented effectively.

I also note that, as a government, we have implemented the final phase of the national consumer protection framework when it comes to updating taglines. The outdated 'gamble responsibly' taglines are being replaced. We've also had, under myself as minister, changes to the classification rules. In some aspects those have, again, been left dormant for some 25 years. This will enable and update the framework to ensure that we have proper classifications for computer games or online games that contain simulated gambling or loot boxes. We know from our engagement with harm-minimisation experts, advocates and clinicians that this is a critical aspect of harm minimisation.

This government, and myself as minister, will be judged on our delivery. We understand the importance of this to the Australian people, but, most importantly, we understand that it is multifaceted—that it needs to be done carefully and implemented properly to get it right and to get results.

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