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

You weren't here earlier, Senator Ruston, but, having seen a family member go through that, I think it's a good, sensible reform. It's not the only reform that this government will probably undertake, but some reform is better. It's good to see that at least when we consult with industry and consult with community groups we do get better outcomes.

We're also strengthening the classification of gambling-like features in video games to help protect children from exposure to harmful gambling practices and then developing concerning gambling habits. The government will also launch a self-exclusion register known as BetStop. BetStop will allow Australians to actively exclude themselves from online wagering and betting services in a single step for a minimum of three months and up to a lifetime. This is a significant reform which will allow Australians who recognise that they have a problem with online gambling to take positive and tangible steps to protect themselves from further gambling harm.

If this chamber is going to politicise this issue instead of waiting for the recommendations—that's all we're saying: be patient and wait for the recommendations from the inquiry in the House of Representatives, as would be appropriate—then let's take a look at the history of policy in this space. The only reason we have restrictions on gambling ads during live sport is that Labor acted on this when we were last in government. That's right. After a decade of coalition government, what did you actually do? It was a Labor government that implemented those reforms and called for further restrictions while in opposition. The fact is that the Liberals and Nationals are the architects of the current arrangements, which they now claim they want to change, and the architects of restrictions that have now proven to be inadequate.