Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I suppose the first point to make is that I do not take advice from those who take money from big tobacco about the principles that ought to apply to moral judgements about where one takes one's donations from. So I want to make it clear that the outrage expressed in the question bears no scrutiny. We have a system where any donations to political parties are made public through proper declarations through the AEC. Those are publicly available and I do not wish to comment on the detail. I do not have any detail before me.

The senator would know that today we have introduced into the parliament the first national legislation to tackle problem gambling, which includes a staged, evidence-based pathway to precommitment. We know of course that, while gambling is enjoyed by many Australians in moderation and is a legitimate industry, it is also the case that we have a large number of people who suffer from gambling addiction and that that addiction causes great pain to them and their families.