Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In your previous answer you talked of giving parents peace of mind and protecting children, yet you are being selective in which harm you address. Young Australians are being targeted and groomed to highly addictive, harmful gambling, through constant advertising. Are you ignoring the vast majority of Australians' call to fully ban gambling advertising as soon as possible?

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

I thank the member for Warringah for her question, and the answer is: no, we are not. My government has done more to act against harmful gambling than any government in Australian history—more, in just two years, by undertaking action. We know, when we look at where the harmful gambling comes from, that almost 70 per cent of that harmful gambling is actually poker machines. More than or around 15 per cent, off the top of my head—it's about that figure—comes from lotteries and lotto and those tickets as well. I'm yet to see anyone stand up in this place and advocate banning, completely, all advertising of lottery and lotto tickets.

We know that gambling advertising, when it comes to sport, is too prevalent. We know that it can be really annoying, apart from anything else, when you're watching sport. And we know that we want to take an approach which is responsible but makes a difference as well. That is why we've undertaken serious consultation with everyone: from Tim Costello; from the antigambling lobby, who don't want advertising stopped, many of them—they want gambling stopped, full stop. That is the truth of their position. That's a legitimate position for them to take, but it's not one that I have, in terms of stopping all racing, for example, or stopping all gambling right across the board, because I think that that would have an impact and be an intrusion into people's personal liberties which is not appropriate in my view. I respect that some people have a different view. I do not. I do not believe that the state has an absolute right to determine the behaviour of individuals across the board. What I do believe, though, is that we have a responsibility to restrict the damage that harmful advertising can do. I think we need to act, and part of what we are looking at—you go to age—is the impact of when ads are available; it's a major factor here. I don't think there should be any advertising aimed at children. I don't think there should be any advertising during G-rated programs and during children's programs. I think that we need to make sure that adults can be adults but children can be children. The connection as well between sport and gambling needs to be broken, because sport should be enjoyed for what it is—sport. And that is an important focus of why we are undertaking these reforms.