Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Goldstein for her question. There's a fair bit of hypothetical in there about what our alleged position was, but we are working through these issues and the government has made it very clear that the status quo regarding the saturation of gambling advertising, particularly where children are exposed to it, is untenable. The Minister for Communications and the Minister for Social Services are getting on with tackling gambling harm comprehensively, and we're doing that in a way that will ensure that there aren't unintended consequences of it. In today's world, where people have access to information instantaneously on devices that they have—including the member for Goldstein and others in this chamber here—where things can just pop up and be received, we want to make sure that any measures do not have unintended consequences, and we're taking a comprehensive approach, recognising that this is a complex issue.

The government has already delivered the most significant reform that has been done. We've done more in two years than those opposite did in the previous nine. We have delivered the most significant online wagering and harm reduction initiatives of the past decade. We have established mandatory customer ID verification for online wagering. We have banned the use of credit cards for online wagering. We have forced online wagering companies to send their customers monthly activity statements outlining wins and losses. We have introduced new evidence-based taglines, which people will have seen—very different from the 'Gamble responsibly' that used to be there. We have provided direct funding for specialist financial counselling to support people affected by problem gambling. We have introduced nationally consistent staff training. We have introduced new minimum classifications for videogames, and we have launched BetStop—the National Self-Exclusion Register.

I have every respect for Rod Glover. He has been a friend of mine for a long time. He is a great Australian who has had to deal with the tragedy of losing his life partner, something that is felt by so many people in this chamber—and not just on this side of the chamber, I acknowledge. I note that some people, like John Howard, are entering this debate. If only he had been in a position to have some influence over public policy over this time! But the entire time that he occupied my seat, he did absolutely nothing about any of these issues. (Time expired)

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