Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator David Pocock has submitted a proposal under standing order 75 today which has been circulated, as follows:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need for the Australian Government, with the cooperation of the states and territories, to implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling, to be introduced in four phases, over three years, commencing immediately.

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need for the Australian Government, with the cooperation of the states and territories, to implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling, to be introduced in four phases, over three years, commencing immediately.

Yesterday the gambling lobby said on radio that their ads were not normalising gambling among children and young people. I think nearly every parent in the country would scoff at that if they had heard it. The evidence shows us that 75 per cent of young people and children now think that gambling is just a normal part of enjoying sport; it's what you do. Think about that for a moment.

We're currently the biggest losers in the world. We had the Olympic Games and did really well in the medal tally. It inevitably flips to per capita medals, which we love to do as Australians. The one thing we are winning, year in, year out, is in losses per capita when it comes to gambling. Now we have research showing that this next generation coming through thinks that this is just normal. What can we expect to happen when they hit 18, when they can actually gamble—even though we're hearing that 16- and 17-year-olds are already placing bets.

We have to come to the question of what sport is for. Is sport just another business? They can have sponsorships and they can have business models where they flog what we know is a very harmful product. They have young people looking up to and idolising their favourite player and thinking, 'Gambling is just part of this game that I love.' Talk to parents and young people. They'll name all the gambling companies. They'll be able to recite odds. They'll talk about the odds for the upcoming games of their favourite teams. What I'm hearing from people here in the ACT that I represent is that this is not the direction they want to go in.

A number of people in this place were at a briefing where a family shared their son's, their brother's, tragic story about him not being able to escape his gambling addiction, not being able to live with himself and, ultimately, taking his own life. It was incredibly sobering. It was an incredibly brave thing for that family to share that story, in the hope that parliamentarians would take the action that is needed—action that was recommended by this parliament to this parliament 14 months ago.

All the major parties, the Greens and the Independents said, 'This is the way forward.' There were 31 recommendations, and the one that's been talked about the most is a three-year, phased-in ban on all gambling advertising. And now, 14 months later, we're hearing that the government doesn't have the courage to do that. We're hearing—I think, genuinely very worryingly—the PM and government ministers parrot lines from the gambling industry about all of these things that could happen, some of which we know haven't happened in the international experience. Yet we are still seeing the Labor Party falter and not back the Murphy review—not back what almost 80 per cent of what Australians want. No-one is saying, 'Let's ban gambling.' You can still have a punt. The apps will still be there for people. They're not going to suddenly want to bet with international gambling companies, which is illegal in Australia. What we know is that this will start to turn the ship around on the total inundation—the saturation online and on TV—of gambling ads, which is having an effect on young people.

So I urge the parliament: let's put young people first. Let's draw a line in the sand and say, 'We can do this better,' and let's work out how that can happen, because we have the opportunity and we have the support of the people we represent.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Senator Pocock's motion. As senators will recall, in June last year, the coalition introduced a bill to the Senate to ban gambling advertising during live sport, including one hour before and one hour after a game. We did so to respond to strong community concerns which were being raised across this country. I was very proud to introduce the coalition's bill and, as I said in this place just over a year ago, the time to act is now. That is why the coalition is taking strong steps to implement a ban on gambling advertising during live sport.

We know there is a problem. We are not going to wait for months, as the government has been signalling. We are not going to sit on our hands. Most of the crossbench, including Senator Pocock, backed our bill. However, Labor and the Greens opposed it—what a surprise—and our bill was defeated by a narrow margin. If the coalition bill to ban gambling advertising during live sport had been supported through parliament by Labor and the Greens, it would've been law by now.

The coalition bill also reflected the very strong commitment from Mr Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition, who said in his budget reply speech last year:

In our country, footy time is family time, but the bombardment of betting ads takes the joy out of televised sports. Worse, they're changing the culture of our country in a bad way and normalising gambling at a young age.

More than a year has passed since the coalition sought to take action on the issue with our proposed legislation. We are still waiting for the government to work out its response to the You win some, you lose more report into online gambling and its impacts—in some cases, dreadful impacts—on those experiencing gambling harm. The government, like on so many other issues, is being typically slow to respond and, frankly, that is not good enough.

There has been a lot of media speculation about what is going to be in or out of the government's plans. In typical fashion, we see the government floating ideas, planting stories and then retreating when the heat gets too much. We don't know what the minister has in mind, other than that she is ducking and weaving and speaking non-stop out of both sides of her mouth in a way that, frankly, lets down the Australian people. What we do know for sure is that this government has slapped a gag order on industry stakeholders. That is the way this government does business, 'Let's pull out another non-disclosure agreement.' Frankly, that is not good for our parliament and that is not good for democracy.

So the coalition's position remains that we will wait to see what the government actually comes up with in a bill, if we see one at all, rather than jumping at various reports we are seeing in the media. The minister has got to do better than that. The communications minister, Ms Rowland, has got to do better than jumping at shadows, planting stories, tying up stakeholders with non-disclosure agreements and, frankly, kicking this can down the road, which is exactly what is happening. We will consider in good faith any bill that comes forward once we actually see it, if that does happen. Until we see any so-called bill and examine it in careful detail and consult across a range of stakeholders, we are not in a position to support this motion.

I do thank Senator Pocock for bringing on this motion and raising this very important issue, which I know is an incredibly important issue for so many Australians. I'm very proud of the work the coalition has done, and I would ask the minister and the Albanese government to get on with it. (Time expired)

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

I also rise to make a brief contribution to Senator Pocock's matter of urgency before the Senate today. A lot of us in this place who have spoken on this very important issue have had family members impacted by problem gambling. It is an issue that does deserve serious action and serious attention. Given the contributions that we've heard so far, it does concern me that there are people in this place who have been in the parliament for many, many years—in fact, for over 10 years—who have only recently decided to jump on the bandwagon and try to do something about this issue. It is also worth placing on the record what the government has committed to and what the government has done whilst it has been in office. At the outset, it's important to acknowledge that the government is concerned about the gambling harms that we see and hear about across Australia. We know that Australians want to see meaningful action to address these harms, and the parliament is united in the need for a comprehensive response to the online gambling inquiry report.

Those in this chamber would also be aware of the reporting that the government is consulting right now on a proposal to address the harms caused by online wagering. On the issue of online wagering advertising, the government has made very clear that the status quo is untenable. We have gathered the evidence about harms, we have assessed the impacts of various options and we are now consulting on a proposed model, focused on three outcomes. The proposal as it currently stands is not insignificant, but it does seek to address a number of areas: the exposure of children to gambling ads, the normalisation of wagering on sport, and the targeting and saturation of ads. The need for meaningful action is very clear and, as we've seen, the insights from Roy Morgan Research, recently gathered through interviews with around 16,000 Australians for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, show that the number of people betting on sport has doubled in the past five years. More than one-quarter of all men aged between 18 and 24 and one-third of men aged between 25 and 34 now bet on sport, and 10 per cent of sport betters are classified as problem gamblers. Australians lose more than $25 billion on gambling every single year. That is the highest per capita in the world. That is why we need to get these reforms right to deliver both harm reduction and cultural change.

In the two years since being elected, the government has delivered more online wagering harm reduction initiatives than were delivered in a decade under the Liberals. This includes banning the use of credit cards for online gambling; introducing new evidence based taglines in wagering advertising; strengthening classification of gambling-like features in video games, to better protect children; establishing mandatory customer ID verification for online wagering; and launching the national self-exclusion register, BetStop, for problem gamblers, on which more than 27,000 Australians have registered, with 40 per cent of those opting for self-imposed lifetime bans. BetStop is the most effective harm reduction initiative to date in terms of directly helping Australians who are experiencing harm. I encourage anyone who is listening to visit betstop.gov.au.

Advertising reform is complex, but we are making progress. As a government, we are taking the time to consult and ensure that the reforms are effective and will not have detrimental unintended consequences. It's also important to consider the multiple channels over which advertising is delivered. It's not just on television and radio but also on digital platforms and social media where advertising can be targeted at vulnerable Australians. We have to take a comprehensive approach, especially since following the last set of gambling ad restrictions, which were introduced in 2018 by the Liberals, there was a 50 per cent increase in the total volume of gambling spots on television and radio, including an 86 per cent increase on regional TV.

We've gathered the evidence about harms, and we've assessed the impacts of various options and are now consulting on a proposed model for reform to online wagering advertising. The government has been undertaking broad consultation with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters, providers, digital platforms and sporting codes, and we'll continue to engage with stakeholders in good faith. Importantly, no decision has been made on the reforms to online wagering, and we'll be doing so in due course. (Time expired)

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's a lot of hand-wringing and excuses being heard in this chamber this afternoon. No-one in this place can deny the facts. The experts have all told us that the single most important thing that we can do to stop the scourge of gambling is to stop the advertising of it. It is the single most important and impactful thing that this parliament could do, but rather than doing that, we see this hand-wringing and excuse making.

There are not many things I agree on with John Howard, the former Prime Minister, but I do on guns and gambling. If you want to hear more weasel words and excuses from both the government and the opposition about why they can't make the hard call and have the guts to stop advertising, you just have to think about the amount of lobbying that the Labor Party and the Liberal Party have had from the gambling industry over the years, the dinners and donations. The Labor Party is addicted to gambling. The Liberal and Labor parties are addicted to gambling donations. They are addicted to the revenue that is sucked out of the pockets of vulnerable people.

We now hear the glib, snarky excuses from people like Mr Bill Shorten this morning. This has to be kept going. This parasite of an industry advertising to our children must be kept in place so that media companies can keep operating. Cry me a river! This is the exact same government which only two months ago threw the free-to-air televisions under the bus with their antisiphoning rules, bowing to the pressure of the big tech companies to allow sport to be locked behind paywalls. They didn't give two hoots about the survival of free TV then! They didn't give two hoots about the survival of regional television for regional Australia then. But, all of a sudden, it's a nice, sneaky, snarky excuse for not doing the right thing. Have some guts! Just like they complained and squealed about tobacco, they are squealing and complaining and excusing about gambling. (Time expired)

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last June, the You win some, you lose more report of the parliamentary inquiry into online gambling unanimously recommended banning gambling ads on all platforms. Getting everyone to agree in this place is very rare, I can assure you. I pay tribute to the work of the late Peta Murphy, chair of the inquiry. Peta was an extraordinary leader who worked through her illness because she wanted to make real change and protect our kids. When the report came out, I think there was real hope that her sacrifice wouldn't be for nothing, but sadly the closer we get to an election the less courage is on display in Canberra. Clearly, free-to-air TV is too dependent on gambling ad revenue. If the government had voted for my antisiphoning amendments and ring-fenced sport for free-to-air channels, that would've seriously helped, but, no, you wouldn't do that.

But it's probably not just free-to-air TV that would be applying pressure here and knocking on those ministerial doors. The gambling companies forked out 600,000 bucks in political donations last year, including to Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland, who got 19,000 bucks for the last election. They sold our kids out for 620,000 bucks. That's what they're doing today. That's what our kids are worth. Thanks to the former senator and transparency warrior Rex Patrick, we know that the minister met with executives from the gambling companies 66 times in just six months. Of course, I'd bet that the AFL has been applying the pressure. They get 40 million or 50 million bucks a year from these gambling interests.

Australians lose more money gambling per capita than do those in any other country in the world—$25 billion, in fact. Since online gambling ads have come on the scene, our kids have become the biggest losers. Now our kids know the footy team odds better than the names of their football heroes. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, 19 per cent of young women and 25 per cent of young men started betting for the first time after seeing or hearing an ad on TV. Research also shows that high exposure to gambling ads increases the chances that these kids will develop gambling problems in the future.

I say to the government and to the free-to-air channels: this money is absolutely filthy, dirty, disgusting and disgraceful money and you should be ashamed of yourselves. You are absolutely unconscionable today. You've been selling our kids, who are priceless, for just 600,000 bucks. That's what you've done. You'd rather take those donations than worry about the future of our kids. You should not be sitting in this place; you should not be representatives in parliament—I say that right now. You are doing nothing but hurting our Australian kids and their families. First it was the poker machines, and now it's online gambling. It absolutely breaks my heart.

We have waited way too long for anything to be done about poker machines, and if we hadn't limited the ads they would still be running. They would be in charge. The government and the minister need to show more courage and put the Australian people and our kids first. (Time expired)

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't support a blanket ban on anything. A comprehensive ban on advertising for online gambling feels like the beginning of a slippery slope to all gambling being banned. We need legislation to control problems like gambling and we need to have guidelines in place that will protect people, like we do for alcohol and cigarettes, but a blanket ban is not the solution. Once you become an adult, you decide what you will and won't participate in, whether others like it or not.

I know the damage gambling can cause, but I still don't support an absolute ban. I have family members and friends who struggle with gambling addiction. Some of them have an element of control over that addiction. Others know they can't control it, so they keep themselves away from their gambling vice. But even with a level of control over their gambling addiction, they are still addicted. I know people who play online pokies on their iPad instead of going down to the RSL, away from the internet. They still keep the dopamine hit when they win, but the games are not drowning their bank account, so the financial burden is controlled. Others will blow any spare cash on the pokies as soon as they get the chance, and there are those who have TAB accounts and won't share how much they have won or lost. They make sure bills are still paid, but whatever is left at the end of the week is fair game.

There is also a social aspect to gambling. How many of us know groups of friends who go to the club together for a few drinks and put $20 in the pokies or play Keno. We all know these people. Hey, it might even be you. Do you want choices you make as an adult to be analysed like this? Or would you like to be able to choose how you spend your time and your money?

Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Gambling is destroying lives, gambling is costing our country billions and gambling is tearing families apart while it feeds off their misery. Why, then, are we back here in the Senate debating the existence of gambling ads in Australia? Why is the Labor government refusing to listen to the majority of Australians who are desperate to see an end to harmful and destructive ads on their televisions? And why is this Labor government so afraid to adopt recommendations from its own inquiry, led by Peta Murphy, which called for gambling ads to be banned across all media and at all times within three years? Instead, more than a year on from this inquiry, gambling ads continue to bombard us via every medium. When our kids sit down to watch a game on a Friday night, they're dealt gambling ad after gambling ad, creating a whole new generation of gamblers in this country.

Meanwhile, Minister Bill Shorten treats us like mugs and spends his breath arguing that gambling isn't the same as tobacco—but on what basis? As with the link between smoking and lung cancer, gambling harms are well-known. Apart from the massive financial losses, there are cascading physical and mental health impacts, suicide, inability to work and a myriad of other issues. Just as the tobacco industry profits off people's misery, so does the gambling lobby. It preys on kids and families, costing Australians a whopping $25 billion every year. Just as tobacco kills people, gambling kills people. It kills people and it destroys families.

I return to my initial question: why are the Labor government not prepared to adopt their own recommendations and ban gambling ads? Who is the government afraid of? Anything less than a comprehensive plan will be considered a comprehensive failure by the Australian public, who deserve better.

Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I begin by saying I applaud my fellow independent senator David Pocock on his incredible efforts on the issue of gambling ads. It is an issue that heavily impacts my constituents in Western Australia. According to CQUniversity in Sydney, WA has a higher proportion of gamblers than the rest of Australia. Gambling awareness advocate Tim Costello suggested in May that more than one-third of problem gamblers had perpetrated or suffered from domestic violence.

The pervasiveness of gambling advertising in society is having a profound effect, especially at sporting events. When I attend Dockers games, not only do I see sporting bet ads at the stadium, but you can even pop down to level 1 and place a bet during the game. And do you know what? When I attend the Wallabies versus Springboks this Saturday, I am certain that I will see sports gambling ads plastered over the advertising boards there too.

As a young person I'm very concerned about the impact this messaging is having on the next generation of Australians. A relative of one of my constituents, a teacher, told me about how children as young as 13 were whipping themselves into a frenzy over 'multis' and 'parlays' and other gambling jargon that they were so disturbingly familiar with. This excitement is not harmless fun. Gambling has been gamified to appeal to the younger generation.

In 2020, the New South Wales government's GambleAware organisation reported that 30 per cent of kids aged between 12 and 17 had gambled in the preceding year, with around 10 per cent of those being problem gamblers. GambleAware suggested that peer pressure, in addition to the constant advertising online and on TV, meant that a significant cohort of young Australians had developed a perception of gambling and the financial and emotional stresses it entails as normal. This problem haunts children into adulthood, with dire consequences. Clinical psychologist Anastasia Hronis noted in April this year that the rate of suicidal ideation for problem gamblers was as high as 81 per cent, and 30 per cent had attempted suicide.

We know that gambling's reach extends beyond just the individual; it infiltrates families and communities, often leading to devastating consequences. And the social cost of gambling in WA is enormous, with families torn apart by addiction, financial ruin and even violence. The government's reforms, which stop short of a total ban, need to go further in supporting vulnerable Australians and they need to ensure that we are addressing the gambling issue as a societal problem.

David Van (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support Senator Pocock's proposed ban on online gambling advertising, but I feel we could go further with a responsible, phased elimination of all gambling advertisements across all media channels, echoing the decisive action taken against tobacco advertising in the 1990s. While I don't begrudge Australians a punt, I can't for the life of me see why such a damaging product should be allowed into our living rooms. We must protect public health and ensure the economic and social wellbeing of our nation.

As Senator Pocock said, we hold the unenviable title of having the world's highest per capita gambling losses. These losses ripple through our communities, wreaking havoc on families, finances and mental health. These losses, as you will hear from other speakers, have a devastating effect that flows through our communities. The government has a duty to protect Australians, even if it is from themselves.

The social cost of gambling—mental health crises, shattered families and the burden on law enforcement—must be curtailed. A three-year phased-in ban on all gambling adverts offers the advertising industry a pathway to transition towards more ethical revenue opportunities. This ban is necessary and urgent, and it is essential for safeguarding the health and cohesion of our communities.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator David Pocock be agreed to.