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

My question is to the Minister for Communications. Recommendation 16 of the Youwin some, you lose more report into online gambling recommended that the Australian government prohibit all online gambling inducements and inducement advertising and that it do so without delay. Minister, when will this recommendation be implemented?

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

I thank the member for Mayo for her question. She has been a longstanding advocate for reform in this area, and we acknowledge the work that she does in her community and more broadly as well. The Albanese government is committed to ensuring that online gambling takes place within a robust legislative framework with strong consumer protections, and that's why we welcome the report of the committee, ably chaired by the member for Dunkley, which was handed down recently. The report included the experiences of many Australians, harm reduction advocates and industry groups who participated in this process. As the member rightly points out, there are a number of recommendations that go to matters that include both advertising and inducements.

There are two parts to the answer that I give to the member for Mayo. The first is that the government is considering all the recommendations of this report in a holistic and comprehensive manner. We need to ensure that they are capable of implementation, that they become effective and also that they have the desired outcome above all else of achieving the principle of harm minimisation. We know that some of these recommendations involve the states and territories, which is the second part of this answer. Some of these matters go to issues that are within the purview of the states and territories and require a degree of cooperation. They also require a degree of cooperation across portfolios including in conjunction, in particular, with the Minister for Social Services, who has responsibility for the national consumer protection framework.

As the member will be well aware, the national consumer protection framework steps have now concluded. We achieved that only a couple of weeks ago under this government by activating BetStop, the one-touch mechanism for self-exclusion from all forms of online gambling. We're working through those recommendations now. We know that some of these aspects, as the member rightly points out, will require the cooperation of states and territories. I can assure the member and all members of this House that this government believes that the status quo is unsustainable. We need to ensure that there is effective change in this area, again in accordance with those principles of harm minimisation. We are currently working on all of those recommendations and appreciate the member's involvement. We will continue to liaise with the member and all interested members of the parliament as we take this policy forward.