Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Colleagues, as Senator Xenophon has outlined, you will recall that, when the bill was last before the Senate, the Senate agreed to an amendment moved by the Nick Xenophon Team in relation to the banning of offering lines of credit. At that time, I indicated that the government supported the policy of banning the offering of lines of credit, but that it was our preference to pursue that issue via the National Consumer Protection Framework that we're developing with the states and territories. Nonetheless, the government understands that the will of the Senate is that the Commonwealth legislate this ban as part of the bill.

However, as Senator Xenophon alluded to, there were some unintended consequences that flowed from the original amendment that passed the Senate. Primarily, the drafting of that amendment captured the telephone credit betting activities of on-course bookmakers. Credit betting by small on-course bookmakers, as opposed to the large online corporate operators, has been a long-standing traditional practice at racecourses for decades. It forms an important part of the business of on-course bookmakers. The government's consultation with bookmaker associations revealed that the amendment that was passed would have had a serious detrimental impact on many of the around 500 on-course bookmakers who operate across Australia, all of whom are effectively small businesses. It's important that I acknowledge that my belief is that certainly wasn't the intent of the colleagues who supported that amendment.

The government undertook consultation on an alternative set of amendments, including with the Australian Bookmakers Association, Responsible Wagering Australia, Financial Counselling Australia and Tabcorp. I should also note that, on 27 April, state and territory gambling ministers agreed to the proposition which was put forward in the House by the government. Those consultations gave the government confidence that the government amendments, which the House of Representatives agreed to in June, will enact the spirit and intent of the original Nick Xenophon Team amendments whilst avoiding the unintended consequences.

In summary, the government amendment moved in the House will prohibit wagering operators from providing or offering credit to customers. It will prohibit operators from promoting or facilitating credit via a third party, such as small account credit contracts, also known as pay-day lenders, which was not captured in the original Senate amendment. It will provide criminal and civil penalties for contravention of the credit prohibitions—up to $675,000 per day for companies, which is higher than the original Senate amendment. It will provide an exemption for on-course bookmakers, all of whom operate as small businesses, to provide credit via telephone. It will allow a transition period of six months before the prohibition comes into effect to allow wagering operators and consumers to adjust their business and betting practices, and no time limit is placed on the recovery of debts. It will give authority to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to undertake a statutory review after three years to assess the effectiveness of these new provisions. Credit will not be permitted to be provided via online means by any wagering operator. This measure will deliver on the government's 2013 election commitment and its response to the 2015 illegal offshore wagering review to ban lines of credit being offered for online betting altogether.

I thank my Senate colleagues for their constructive engagement and cooperation with the government as we worked to develop these amendments. I particularly want to acknowledge the work of my colleague Minister Tudge who has taken primary carriage of this matter and who has worked hard to achieve the important reforms that are contained in the bill.