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

This reference is an important one. Last year, the parliament handed down a report by the late Peta Murphy. It was an important report, a unanimous report, that recommended a number of things to clean up the gambling industry in Australia because it does such harm to Australian families, to businesses and to our society.

At the time, the government said they would respond to the report in an appropriate time and would get on with the recommendations. Well, we still haven't seen the government's response. In fact, worse than that, what we have got is a glib reply—a suggestion that, despite all of the months' work that went into this report on the inquiry led by the late Peta Murphy, the government wasn't going to follow the advice. A full, total ban on gambling advertising is what was recommended, and the reason it has been recommended is because it is the single most important thing that this parliament can do to stop gambling's scourge on Australian society and families. 'A total ban': that means across television, that means across catch-up services, that means across newspapers and across radio, that means online, because, if you care about stopping the harm of gambling, you've got to stop pushing it down people's throats.

It's just like we've done with tobacco advertising. We said: 'You can smoke if you like, if you're of appropriate age. You can spend your money on a pack of smokes if you like. It keeps going up, but if you want to spend your money on that, fine. But we're not going to advertise these products and allow the advertising of these products, because they are dangerous and harmful.' The cost that this harm has on families and on our public health service is extraordinary. There's a litany of different types of disease and cancers alone which are caused because of smoking and addiction to tobacco, so Australia said, 'You know what, we're not going to advertise tobacco anymore because it's hurtful to people, it's harmful to people, and we certainly don't want kids being influenced by the advertising, and to take up smoking.' That is what was recommended by all of the experts for gambling. If it's harmful, why are we allowing it to be promoted? If it ruins families, why are we allowing it to be advertised? If it is one of the leading causes of domestic violence in this country, why on earth do we have ads on our televisions during family time, during the sport, when you're watching your favourite football team? We know that gambling harms people, so we should stop the promotion of it. I'm not suggesting for a second that we should ban gambling. (Time expired)

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

I thank Senator Hanson-Young for this motion to establish a Senate inquiry into gambling harm. Why am I not surprised that the Greens are yet again doing the work that the Labor government should be doing to protect Australians from gambling harm? It has been over a year since the late Peta Murphy tabled the report of the House inquiry into online gambling—a report that gave a clear recommendation to end gambling ads across all media within three years. So what has the government done in response to this Labor-led inquiry and report? Nothing. In the year since this report was tabled, we have seen Albanese and his government delay responding and dodge their responsibility to act. We have seen Minister Shorten tell us that gambling harm isn't the same as tobacco. And now, we will likely see the Labor government vote against this Greens motion to establish a Senate inquiry and build on the crucial work of Peta Murphy's report, all while the gambling industry continues to profit off the misery of everyday people.

Australians lose more per capita on gambling than any other country in the world, gambling away a staggering $25 billion per year. But this doesn't even begin to capture the widespread harm this destructive industry is having on Australians. Nearly every week, I read or hear stories about people whose marriages have fallen apart, who have gone to prison, who have gambled away their homes, who have lost their jobs, families and friends, or who have been sent into a spiral of mental distress as a result of gambling. Gambling is destroying people's lives and it's destroying communities.

I want to take a moment to read this story from Ed, who shared his story with the Alliance for Gambling Reform and whose experience serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of gambling. Ed started gambling at just eight years old, and by 15 he was already feeling the devastating effects. Like many others, his struggle with gambling started quietly but gradually spiralled into life-altering consequences. After he stole money the first time, he couldn't stop. He said: 'I kept chasing my losses with more stolen money. Before I knew it, I was in a $1.8 million hole.' Ed's lowest point came when he found himself stealing from clients where he worked. He sank deeper into the cycle of gambling harm in a desperate attempt to recover lost money. His addiction continued behind bars with card games and bets on the footy offering a familiar yet dangerous outlet.

Fortunately, unlike many other gambling stories, Ed's story doesn't end in despair. He found the help he needed through a gambling support group. He finished his time in prison and is now an advocate for others in their journey to recovery. Ed wants to see stronger action from the government on gambling ads. He wants to see the government protect children and young people from being drawn into the dangerous world of addiction. He worries about the impact that gambling ads are having on young generations and the ease with which teenagers are exposed to gambling ads and inducements. He said: 'We need to educate kids about gambling, just like we do about drugs. By the time they turn 18 it might be too late. This is an epidemic waiting to happen.' Well, frankly, it is already happening.

Jacob's story from the Alliance for Gambling Reform is not too dissimilar. His father used to take him to watch the footy most weekends. It was there that he discovered sports betting. From the age of 16, Jacob started placing small bets at the stadium to add a little more excitement to the game he was about to watch. He watched a lot of sport on TV, so when gambling became accessible through the red button on his remote, he says he started gambling on games that he watched from home.

But it didn't stop there. He said, 'I would also pass a betting shop on my walk to and from school every day and would often duck in for a quiet punt on my way home if there were games on that evening.' He said, 'Once sports gambling became accessible to me via the internet and my phone, I started venturing into betting on all kinds of different sports outside of my usual.'

Jacob would spend his entire salary within the first week. He was forced to turn to payday loans to pay for his living experiences. He said, 'Eventually I realised this couldn't continue and I had exhausted all options to get money to pay my rent.' He still remembers the feeling he had confessing to his loved ones. 'It was like no other feeling I've experienced before. Guilt, shame, embarrassment, fear, sadness all rolled into one big feeling that makes you feel like you want to go to bed and never wake up again.' Like Ed, Jacob has now recovered. He has rebuilt his life and his relationships, and volunteers to help other addicts do the same.

These stories from Ed and Jacob demonstrate just how dangerous gambling can be and how easily children can get sucked in. Yet this government, and many governments before them, have failed to take any meaningful action to protect them. With a bit of courage and conviction, Labor could buck this trend and actually take meaningful action protect Australians from one insidious contributor of gambling harm—gambling advertising.

Gambling advertising not only fuels gambling, it normalises it. In just one year, one million gambling ads were aired on free-to-air television and radio, and that's not to mention the exponential rise in targeted ads across social media platforms. So when our kids sit down to watch their favourite match on telly, without realising it they've watched hundreds or perhaps thousands of gambling ads by the time they are 18 years of age. And then suddenly you have a whole new generation of gamblers in this country!

Research shows that gambling ads directly influence people's betting behaviour, and this is particularly true for young people and people at risk of gambling harm. It is incomprehensible that up to one-third of young people may be gambling before the age of 18. One-third of young people gambling before the age of 18—let that sink in. It's unfathomable just how embarrassingly wide the gap between policy and evidence is when it comes to gambling reform in this country. We know that gambling ads are insidious, a harmful tool being weaponised by the gambling industry to drag people into addiction. We know this; we've been told this by expert after expert.

Gambling ads are undermining the courageous efforts of problem gamblers doing everything they can to manage their addiction. How can you hear the stories of Ed and Jacob, of families broken and loved ones lost and come in this place time and time again and sit on your guilt-ridden hands? Shame! Shame on everyone professing to care while taking donations from gambling corporations and refusing to take action to reduce harm. People can see you. Read some evidence. Hear some witness testimonies. Look at the lead causes of domestic violence. Stop the excuses and stop allowing gambling harm to go unchecked on your watch.

In the face of Labor's inaction, the Greens have introduced a bill to ban gambling advertising in line with the Murphy inquiry recommendations. Now the major parties have an opportunity to take real action on gambling harm and make this bill law. While ending gambling ads is a critical step towards ending gambling harm, we know the damage does not stop there. The Greens are the only political party with a clear, comprehensive plan on gambling to take to the election. We want a national gambling regulator to ensure a consistent approach rather than just a patchwork of regulation that gambling companies and casinos can exploit. We also want to see a universal and mandatory precommitment system to protect those at risk of gambling harm. And we want transparency about the impacts of gambling, starting with clear reporting on which local government areas are hardest hit by gambling companies.

The Greens' plan goes further still. For far too long, effective regulation of the gambling industry has been obstructed by dirty political donations to the major parties. Last year it was revealed that one of Australia's largest betting companies, Sportsbet, paid $19,000 to Minister Michelle Rowland, now Minister for Communications and a key decision-maker for Australia's federal gambling policy before the 2022 election. Shamefully, Minister Rowland isn't alone. Recent analysis from the Alliance for Gambling Reform shows that at least 19 federal politicians have accepted hospitality from wagering companies to attend major events including the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Open, AFL matches and cricket games—and Taylor Swift concerts too, I'm told.

It is clear that the gambling industry is buying influence and favour, and the major political parties are only too happy to comply. The Greens have been pushing for an end to all political donations from gambling companies, amongst other destructive industries, for a decade, but the big parties refuse to bite the hand that feeds them.

Senator Hanson-Young's proposed Senate inquiry is an opportunity to shine a light on this insidious system. It is beyond time we stopped political donations from the gambling industry at all levels of government. The Greens are committed to cleaning up politics, which is why we want to ban dirty donations, cap all political donations at $1,000 and improve transparency regarding donations. Maybe with these reforms in place—just maybe—the Labor government will have the courage to act on gambling advertising. But, as I said, it is unlikely that Labor will support this motion today. It's unlikely that they will take any real action on gambling harm, particularly if it impacts their bottom line. They will continue to say it's too difficult, too complicated and too expensive. But people across Australia are sick of Labor's excuses; they are sick of inaction.

Australians want real change and effective regulation of gambling. They want policies like those of the Greens and actions like the ones we have taken in parliament to end gambling ads and establish a Senate inquiry. The Greens are ready to work with the government to deliver. We've only got a few days left of this sitting period. I urge the government to do the right thing: put a ban on gambling advertising and support this motion for an inquiry. These are things that the parliament could do and deliver this week. So today I ask the government: are you up for it?

Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the motion to refer the issue of gambling harm in Australian society to the Environment and Communications References Committee. I associate myself with the comments of my colleague Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, and I commend her for her tireless work in advocating for real gambling reforms.

This inquiry would examine a wide range of issues including the impact of gambling on Australian communities, families, and children; the influence of the gambling lobby and their dirty political donations; and the government's response to the Murphy review. Two years have passed since that review finished, but the government has yet to act on gambling reform. Experts overwhelmingly back a comprehensive ban on gambling ads and our communities are crying out for help. Something must be done.

Gambling comes in many forms: sports bets, poker machines, lottery tickets and online games—just to name a few. A lot of people think gambling is harmless fun or an intrinsic part of the Australian sporting culture, but gambling is a major public policy issue in Australia that affects the health and wellbeing of individuals and families in so many ways. Harm from gambling can manifest in relationship breakdown, poor physical health, mental and financial stress, job loss, crime, homelessness, and family related violence.

We also know that Australians have the highest gambling losses per person in the world. Queensland government data shows that Australia's gambling losses surged to $32 billion a year in 2022-23. This isn't a problem that affects just a handful of people; three-quarters of Australians have gambled in the last 12 months. For some, it's a benign activity, but about a million people either suffer or live with someone suffering from severe gambling harm. Many lose much more money than they can afford. Over half a million Australians have asked their bank to temporarily ban them from gambling. Low-, moderate- and high-risk gamblers all report adverse impacts from their gambling. These are sobering facts that clearly show that gambling is a public health issue in our communities.

In my state of South Australia, two-thirds of residents participate in gambling. We lose, on a per capita basis, $1,227 a year on average. South Australians are very concerned about the prevalence of gambling advertisements and want to see action. Most South Australians support tighter regulation of sports betting advertising, with 77 per cent saying that governments should take measures to reduce the amount of sports betting advertised. The Australia Institute has done research which shows that three in four South Australians agree that gambling advertising should be banned in sport. The president of the Australian Medical Association in South Australia, Dr John Williams, and academics from Flinders University who are experts in gambling addiction have signed a letter urging politicians to act. They have called, alongside many others, for strong national action to ban gambling advertisements. This would prioritise the health and wellbeing of the public above the profits of major sporting and media businesses in this country. I have also heard directly from my community that this is an issue and a problem that this Labor government must act on.

And what do the researchers tell us, along with those who deal with the harms arising from gambling? We need to listen to what they are spending many, many hours and a lot of resources gathering data on. For example, the work and experience of Professor Malcolm Battersby and Professor Michael Baigent—who are from South Australia's Statewide Gambling Therapy Service and the Flinders Centre for Gambling Research, which brings together Flinders Uni researchers and South Australian health treatment health services—points to findings that, for every problem gambler, six others are affected—family members who suffer directly, not just the gambler. It's a problem that causes suicides not only for gamblers but also for the affected family members they live with. Further, gambling ads are associated with increasing habits of gambling. They drive the problem higher. Gambling disproportionately affects, in all its manifestations, lower socioeconomic groups in our community, and it makes a real current cost-of-living crisis for those households and families who can least afford it—an average online gambling spend of $1,300 a year which impoverishes families. We need to honour this research and these service experiences and draw out the lessons for our policymaking here in the parliament. We must take action in line with what they recommend.

Gambling also affects our children. We know that children and young people are exposed to saturated gambling marketing in their everyday lives—one million gambling ads aired on TV last year. What shame! Our children are exposed to these messages daily. This directly results in one in five young women and one in seven young men becoming gamblers. They bet for the first time after seeing or hearing an ad on TV. The chief executive of Responsible Wagering Australia, the peak body for the industry, has rejected suggestions that advertising normalises gambling for children, but the gambling industry is one of the most innovative, health-harming industries of modern times. The gambling industry uses a predatory and systematic approach to try and get our kids to gamble. Gambling advertisements intentionally send messages to children that gambling is fun, it's exciting and it's a way to join with others and to get rich easily. Frequent exposure to gambling ads also makes young people think that gambling's normal and socially acceptable and a core part of sport. Seventy-five per cent of kids aged eight to 16 can name one or more sports betting companies. One-third of young people may be gambling before the age of 18. These are children as young as 10 years old, in this country, who are hooked on gambling and have lost thousands of dollars. This should not be the case. We must do much more to protect our children and our young people. These are some of society's most vulnerable, and there are clear things that this government could do to benefit the Australian community.

The Albanese government's decision to back down from a commitment to a comprehensive ad ban is beyond disappointing. It shows where they're loyalties lie—with the cashed-up gambling lobby. The gambling industry's pulling out all stops to prevent a full ad ban. They've thrived in a media landscape without regulation. As the chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Martin Thomas, has said:

… we have a grossly inadequate regulatory regime in which the gambling industry has been allowed to operate virtually unchecked, causing devastation to individuals, families and communities.

Labor and the Liberals are all too happy to do their bidding, as they continue to receive millions of dollars in political donations from the gambling industry.

In addition to donations, they are also showering federal politicians with hospitality. At least 19 politicians have accepted hospitality from wagering companies to attend major events, including the Australian Open, Melbourne Cup, AFL and cricket. Who could forget when Sportsbet and bet365 paid for the lavish birthday lunch for the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, who's partly responsible for regulating the industry, or when Sportsbet hosted Anthony Albanese at the National Press Club weeks before the 2022 election?

There is a long list of former politicians and political advisers who've moved on to represent the gambling industry. For example, former Labor minister Stephen Conroy became the CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia after leaving politics. Gambling companies profit off some of the most vulnerable people in our community. People affected by gambling harms can't wine and dine ministers like gambling companies can, nor can their families. They aren't well connected. They aren't corporate lobbyists.

This has an insidious effect on our democracy. We have to say no to the vested interests of powerful corporations. There's a clear path of action we recommend for the government. They could implement the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm, chaired by the late Peta Murphy. This multi-party report recommended, among other things, a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising with a phased approach. That is why the Greens introduced our Interactive Gambling Amendment (Ban Gambling Ads) Bill 2024 to the Senate a few weeks ago. This bill will ban gambling ads on TV, radio, print and online, consistent with the multi-party parliamentary inquiry recommendations.

Time is up. The public are sick of the excuses and delays, and the Greens are the only party with a clear plan to reduce gambling harm that goes beyond advertising bans to comprehensive national regulation. That's what we need. We're calling on the Labor government to urgently ban all gambling advertising across all of the media and all forms of gambling, to establish a national independent gambling regulator and to end the grip of the gambling industry in politics by banning political donations from gambling and other destructive industries. Labor's partial ad ban just doesn't cut it. Partial bans will only ever get partial results. The Labor government needs to put people before profit and urgently act on gambling harm. We banned tobacco advertisements in this country because they caused acute harm. Gambling companies profit from addiction, targeting our kids and wrecking families. We must do the same for gambling advertisements and ban them. It's time for Labor and for this parliament to listen to the experts, to respect public opinion and to put a full ban on all gambling ads.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government does not support this referral. The Albanese government takes its responsibility to protect Australians seriously, particularly children and young people, from the harms of gambling. On the important issue of wagering advertising, the government has been clear that the status quo is untenable and that things need to change. The government's consultation process in response to the parliamentary inquiry into online gambling has been thorough, valuable and has raised additional considerations that we will continue to work through.

The government is focused on three key outcomes: firstly, reducing the exposure of children to gambling ads; secondly, breaking the nexus of wagering and sport; and, thirdly, tackling the targeting and saturation of ads. There's no doubt that every Australian family wants to enjoy sport, from the grassroots to the professional leagues, without being bombarded by gambling ads. It's certainly a feeling held strongly in my household, and I know it is for many other Australians. We want kids off screens and on the sporting field, and we want to restore the tradition of sport as family time. Parents across Australia need to have their confidence restored so they can sit down with their kids to watch their favourite team without being inundated by sports betting promotions.

It's important we get these reforms right, because, as we have seen in the past, bad policy design leads to bad outcomes. In 2018 the coalition's reforms saw a huge spike in gambling ads, and we have seen significant growth in online wagering ads since. It's also important to consider the multiple channels over which advertising is delivered—not just television and radio but also digital platforms and social media, where advertising can be targeted at vulnerable Australians. We've gathered the evidence about harms, we have assessed the impacts of various options, and we are now consulting on a proposed model. As a responsible government, we're taking the time to consult and ensure that what is proposed is effective and will not have detrimental unintended consequences.

As we work through these reforms, we have continued to deliver the most significant online wagering harm reduction initiatives of the past decade—things like 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, or BetStop, for problem gamblers, which more than 32,000 Australians have now registered with, with 40 per cent of those opting for self-imposed lifetime bans. We know that it suits the political purposes and political agenda of the Greens party to come in here and argue that Labor is not taking enough action on these matters, but even that list I've just supplied is a part of the action that this government has taken on online wagering harm reduction initiatives—more action than any government has ever taken in Australia's history.

The parliamentary inquiry that was chaired by the late Peta Murphy gathered a significant amount of valuable evidence, including from public health experts and people with lived experience of gambling harm, resulting in 31 recommendations. There is no need to repeat this process through another inquiry, which would simply waste people's time and divert valuable resources. The government understands the harms. There was good work done in the parliamentary inquiry, and we're considering those recommendations. It's why we've implemented more harm minimisation measures than any other government, and that's why we will provide a comprehensive response to the parliamentary inquiry outlining further reforms. Accordingly, the government opposes this committee referral.

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Hanson-Young to refer a matter to the Environment and Communications References Committee be agreed to. A division is required. As it is after 6.30 pm, that will happen tomorrow. The debate is adjourned accordingly.