Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Ban on Gambling Advertisements During Live Sport) Bill. I think it's fair to say that everyone in this place wants to see some level of reform, Senator Rennick. The contribution that you just made reminds me of a family member of mine, who is no longer with me now, but who certainly did listen a lot to a particular radio station that had the trots and racing and who ultimately did have an issue with gambling. He wasn't of the generation that had these things. You can only imagine the impact that gambling has on family and friends and many people in our community.

It is fair to say that everyone in this place genuinely wants to see serious reform. It is a process whereby we need to look at every piece of legislation as it comes into parliament for consideration. That's not to say that this government isn't doing anything about gambling generally. As you and others would know, through you, Chair, the government has set up an inquiry in the other place, in the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. I would say the hope is that reforms will come out of that inquiry. I'm not sure exactly when that report is due. My understanding is that, at some stage this year, there will be some serious reforms that come out of that process.

It is important that, as a government and as a parliament, we respect the processes of our committees in this place. If we are to jump the gun, so to speak, what is the point of our committee structures? We should allow the members of parliament to do the work they're doing now, to go through the reports, the analysis and the evidence that's currently before them, and then sit down and actually work together about how we can best put forward reforms that tackle a scourge that is on our society, Senator Rennick. It's important that we listen to every member of this place. It's also important that we respect the processes. I would hope that everyone in the Senate would at least wait for the report that comes out of the House of Representatives before making their final position.

I wanted to add that the general feeling in the community is that we do need to do more and we do need to act in this policy area. Research from the Institute of Family Studies suggests that when people are exposed to wagering in advertising 21 per cent are prompted to start betting for the first time, 28 per cent tried a new form of betting, 29 per cent said that they placed bets on impulse, and a third of people increased their betting. This research also found that three in four Australians gambled at least once during the past 12 months and, of those, almost half were classified as being at some risk of harm from wagering.

These are some pretty confronting statistics and they suggest that most recent government action, in this space, implemented by the coalition government in 2018 had failed. It is also worth noting that this sudden interest in gambling harm reduction, on the other side, has also developed almost half a decade of inaction and inadequate policies. Now those opposite are attempting to reform this important and very complex area with a piecemeal private senator's bill today here in the Senate. Ultimately, the bill reforms some areas but ignores the totality of advertising.

I think the contribution from Senator Cox summed it up quite well too. We need to look at the whole package when it comes to advertising. In contrast to the coalition, the government is committed to getting this reform right, which is why there is a significant body of work being done to engage with stakeholders and community groups and develop a well-considered serious bill.

Part of this work is the inquiry, as I mentioned earlier, being conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. We are waiting on the report and its recommendations to come back to the parliament. As senators we should have a particular appreciation for respecting the work of a committee rather than jumping ahead and proposing a reform without regard for the recommendations that will come through the committee processes.

For those listening today in the gallery, it is important to note the work of this inquiry. The inquiry has particular regard to a number of areas:

As you can see, that's quite a comprehensive terms of reference currently before the other place, in terms of the impacts of online gambling on social media. These are all significant areas of interest and concern, and as a senator I'd like to see the outcomes and recommendations of this inquiry before we vote on reform in this place.

That's why the bill that is currently before us is somewhat premature. I would urge the coalition to come back to this place when we get the final report from that inquiry. Senator Henderson, I think it would be in your interest and the interest of the whole parliament that we consider the report of that House of Representatives committee stage before we make final consideration. As a former member of the other place I'm sure you would appreciate their committee processes as much as we appreciate ours. I think there needs to be that level of respect, on the committee processes, in the parliament. But I must say that it's obvious to me, from my reading, that the bill before us is somewhat half-baked and incomplete, Senator Henderson. As Senator Cox and others have mentioned, it is only focused on certain parts of the media spectrum—radio, TV and live streaming. We really need to look at the whole package, the whole suite, that is impacting a number of people, particularly those who are impacted by problem gambling. I think the contribution of those things should be looked at with some level of detail. A harm-minimisation approach needs to consider multichannels and situations.