Labor’s long-delayed gambling advertising crackdown will be kicked along to another inquiry as the Coalition and the Greens seek extra time to scrutinise the contentious package, which advocates argue does not go far enough to protect families. Source: The Age.
A handful of Liberal MPs spoke in a Coalition party room meeting yesterday to argue the opposition should take a strong line on gambling reform rather than wave Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s laws through parliament after they are introduced this week.
Given the government needs either Greens or Coalition support to pass the bill in the Senate, their early resistance means Labor might have to negotiate on amendments to pass the laws.
The issue has dogged the government for years, as it navigates the arguments of reform advocates on one side, and the sports, media and wagering industries on the other.
A report recommending strong action from late Labor MP Peta Murphy sat on the shelf for more than 1000 days while the government tried to reach a compromise with key stakeholders.
Labor last month unveiled its plan to restrict gambling advertising by capping television ads at three per hour, phasing in an ad ban for stadiums and jerseys, banning sports stars from promoting wagering, introducing tighter limits on radio ads in school pick-up hours and an opt-in model for online ads. The laws also move to kill off the newer online keno and offshore lottery industries.
But the bill falls short of recommendations from the 2023 Murphy report, which called for a national gambling regulator and total ad blackout.
The Greens’ communications spokeswoman, Sarah Hanson-Young, yesterday said the government was “failing to do what the experts and their own report, the Murphy report, proposed”.
The Coalition’s communications spokeswoman, Sarah Henderson, said the opposition also had concerns, meaning the two parties will combine forces to send the laws to a parliamentary inquiry once they are tabled in parliament later this week.
Communications Minister Anika Wells yesterday said there were “very entrenched views” on both sides of the gambling advertising debate.
“Delaying actual reform and actual implementation isn’t worth further consultation on a piece that has been very publicly and prolifically discussed for three years,” Ms Wells said.
FULL STORY
Coalition, Greens team up to delay Labor’s ‘half-arsed’ gambling bill (By Natassia Chrysanthos, The Age)
