Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I certainly second this motion. We need to deal with this today because we have a duty as members of parliament to take the leadership and create a better Australia. We know that gambling advertising causes enormous harm. We need to debate this now. We can no longer sit and do nothing.

It has been a year—a year!—since the report was handed down by the late Peta Murphy. She had such courage in putting together that report, and I think it's such a great shame that nothing of any substance has happened in this place in a year. We know from that report by the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs that online gambling and gambling advertising to children, young people and those experiencing gambling addiction causes enormous and recognised harm. We know from that report that Australians demand an end to the saturation of the advertising of gambling products.

That report had another key recommendation, and that is a phasing out of advertising of online gambling over three years. We've lost a year due to the minister's inaction. A year has gone—31 recommendations and nothing is being done in this place. And that makes Australians incredibly frustrated—I would say even angry—that their children are being bombarded, as the member for Clark said. We are talking about 948 gambling advertisements broadcast each day in 2021 in Victoria on free-to-air television alone. This has grown exponentially. If you go back to 2016, it was just 374. I say 'just', but that is still an incredibly large amount.

What has happened is that our children now see this as normal. When they're watching a game of football, our children see it as incredibly normal that they're seeing gambling advertising; or that when they open up social media, they're seeing gambling advertising. They're being told to bet with their mates—there is a proliferation of online apps—and this is causing enormous harm. Roy Morgan Research, in the 12 months to March 2024, and the Alliance for Gambling Reform showed the number of people betting on sport has more than doubled in the last five years, and yet we do nothing in this place. That is why this motion must be supported. We need to debate this and we need to have some action in this place, and we haven't seen action.

I'm sure the minister's going get up and talk about BetStop. That was actually started by the previous government, and that is one small thing that we need to fix. But we must address the proliferation and the saturation of gambling advertising like we did in the 1980s and 1990s with respect to cigarette advertising. This is a public health issue; this is actually a public health emergency. We have people who are taking their lives, who have horrendous health issues, who are losing their homes, who are becoming homeless and who are having family breakdowns. We know that this is very much affecting young people, particularly young men, and we are providing no protections in this place—no protections at all. It's like it's just not an issue that anyone in here really wants to deal with, and we need to. It is our duty as members of parliament; we are elected in this place to help create a better Australia, and we are not doing that when we are not addressing this issue.

So I would urge all members in this place, let us at least have a debate on this. We can no longer allow the government to do nothing in this place when the harm is so real—the harm to young Australians in particular. I urge the minister: you have 31 recommendations which you have not even responded to formally in the parliament. Please, I beg you—and Australian mums and dads beg you—to do the right thing and act on those recommendations. Let's discuss this bill and end gambling advertising now.

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