Richard Colbeck voted strongly against increasing restrictions on gambling

The majority voted in favour of a motion that items 17 to 23 of schedule 2 "stand as printed", which means that they remain unchanged. These items relate to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and the discretion of the Australian Communications and Media Authority ('ACMA').

This motion was put in response to an amendment introduced by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon that those items should be opposed. Senator Xenophon explained that he was concerned that "[t]his omnibus bill, under the pretext of ensuring less red tape, will actually ... make it less likely that there will be an investigation into breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act by ACMA" (see Senator Xenophon' full explanation here).

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced to "reduce regulatory burden for business, individuals and the community sector" (see the explanatory memorandum) and to repeal redundant provisions that are either duplications or have ceased to have effect. The provisions of the bill that make material changes have been identified and discussed in the bills digest.

The majority voted in favour of a motion that schedule 1 stand as printed.(The wording of schedule 1 is available here under the heading "Text of bill". ) In other words, the majority wanted the schedule to remain unchanged. The motion was put in response to a Green amendment to oppose that schedule.

Schedule 1: "repeals the position and functions of the National Gambling Regulator, along with provisions relating to the supervisory and gaming machine regulation levies, the automatic teller machine withdrawal limit, dynamic warning messages on gaming machines, the trial of mandatory pre-commitment, and matters for Productivity Commission review".(Read more about Schedule 1 in the revised explanatory memorandum. )

Because the majority wanted the schedule to remain unchanged, this Greens amendment was rejected.

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced to make a number of key changes. These include:

• amending the National Gambling Reform Act 2012 to implement parts of the Government’s responsible gambling policy;
• amending the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 so that the income management aspect of the Cape York Welfare Reform initiative can continue for a further two years;
• amending the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 and the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 so that Family Tax Benefit Part A can only be paid up to the end of the calendar year in which a teenager is completing senior secondary school.(Read more about these measures in the bills digest.)

There are several other measures introduced by this bill that can be explored in its bills digest.

Most of the measures are savings measures that had been announced by the previous Labor Government in the 2013–14 Budget, the 2012–13 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) or the 2012–13 Budget. However, the gambling reform measures, the Cape York Welfare Reform measures and the changes to Paid Parental Leave arrangements(Read about the changes to Paid Parental Leave arrangements in the bills digest.) are newly proposed by the current Government.