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senate vote 2024-08-14#8
Edited by
mackay staff
on
2024-08-17 09:09:44
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Title
Matters of Urgency — Gambling Advertising- Matters of Urgency - Gambling Advertising - Ban
Description
<p class="speaker">Sue Lines</p><p>Senator David Pocock has submitted a proposal under standing order 75 today which has been circulated, as follows:</p><p class="italic">That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:</p><p class="italic">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.</p><p>Is consideration of the proposal supported?</p><p> <i>More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in </i> <i>their places—</i></p><p>With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.</p> <p class="speaker">David Pocock</p><p>I move:</p><p class="italic">That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:</p><p class="italic">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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p> <p class="speaker">Sarah Henderson</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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:</p><p class="italic">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.</p><p>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 <i>You win some, you lose more</i> 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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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. <i>(Time expired)</i></p> <p class="speaker">Raff Ciccone</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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. <i>(Time expired)</i></p> <p class='motion-notice motion-notice-truncated'>Long debate text truncated.</p>-
- The majority voted against a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2024-08-14.143.2) introduced by ACT Senator [David Pocock](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/act/david_pocock) (Independent), which means it failed.
- ### Motion text
- > *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.*
- #### Rebellions
- Queensland Senator [Gerard Rennick](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/queensland/gerard_rennick) (Liberal) rebelled against the rest of his party, voting Yes against the rest of his party, which voted No. Note that West Australian Senator [Fatima Payman](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/wa/fatima_payman) (Independent) is currently marked as a rebel (as at 17/08/2024) but this is inaccurate as Senator Payman is no longer part of the Labor Party.
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