Interactive Gambling Amendment (Ban Gambling Ads) Bill 2024
Senator HENDERSON (Victoria) (09:29): Well, it is somewhat ironic that we are here today in this chamber debating a bill put forward by the Australian Greens to ban gambling advertising. On 12 May 2023, in his budget reply speech, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Dutton, announced the coalition's policy. He was clear that a coalition government will ban gambling advertising during live sport, for one hour before and one hour after the game.
We heard from Australians, and their message was clear: footy time is family time, and family time is precious—too precious to be swamped by a rising tide of gambling ads. Watching and listening to live sport is a great Australian tradition, and we on this side of the chamber want to preserve that. We backed it in and delivered a bill just six weeks later, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Ban on Gambling Advertisements During Live Sport) Bill 2023.
Our bill would have drawn a line in the sand and put an end to gambling advertisements during live sport. That was 20 months ago, more than 600 days ago. Guess what happened?
When that bill went before the parliament, the Albanese government opposed it. Guess who else voted against our bill? Yes, it was the Greens.
While crossbench senators overwhelmingly backed our bill, the Greens voted against it. The Senate vote was lost 30 to 33. The coalition won't be taking lectures from the Australian Greens.
This bill represents gross hypocrisy. I say to Senator Hanson-Young, and I repeat her words that we've just heard in this chamber: you've got to have the guts to do something about it. There were no guts and no glory when the Australian Greens voted against a bill to ban gambling advertising during live sport.
It would have made a big difference. I say to Senator Hanson-Young and to the Australian Greens that this is why Australians have had enough of the Greens. They are all talk, with no principle.
Our coalition bill was a commitment from the Leader of the Opposition, who said in his budget reply speech last year: … 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. If the coalition bill to ban gambling advertising during live sport had been supported through parliament by Labor and the Greens then it would have been law by now.
Since then, Australians have waited and waited for the Albanese government to make up its mind on what it's going to do about the issue. This government will continue to wait and wait, because that's all we get from this government. Where is this Prime Minister?
Why has he failed to step up and make the hard calls? We just heard from Senator Grogan, who said after 2½ years, 'We are continuing to work through it.' Yes, these are difficult issues. Well, it's no wonder so many Australians have lost faith in Labor.
It's tough being in government, but being in government means you need to make tough decisions, and this is an absolute shocker from this incompetent and weak Labor government. Just yesterday, the Prime Minister said in a podcast interview that Australians spend and lose more to gambling than people in any other country in the world. Yet he's failed to take any action to address the problem, and so have the Greens.
It may not have been everything the Greens wanted, but why on earth would the Greens oppose our bill? It would have made a huge difference, particularly to young Australians. It would have made a massive difference.
It would have driven a huge cultural difference in our country, and the Greens partnered with Labor to do absolutely nothing. The Prime Minister said his government is considering a range of measures, but there has never been legislation, which begs the question of what on earth the government has been doing for the last 18 months, since the report by the late Peta Murphy was tabled.
There has been no government response to the report and no legislation. The Albanese government promised a comprehensive response to tackle gambling harms, yet we have seen literally nothing. What on earth does this Prime Minister stand for?
It is clear: absolutely nothing, because we have seen no answers and no solutions. I'm sure even Senator Grogan is embarrassed to stand up and have to justify why her government has done nothing on this very important issue. This is a Prime Minister who doesn't have the ticker and doesn't have the backbone.
He's scared of antigambling advocates like Tim Costello. He's scared of the AFL, the NRL and the media companies. So what does he do?
He cowers in a corner and he does nothing. As I said, there are great lines: 'We're continuing to work through it.' We're just on the cusp of an election. It is clear that this government has no answers, and this government is lurching from one disaster to the next as it limps to the next federal election.
Of course, in the Communications portfolio, I think the absolute standout failure is the waste of time and resources on bills and legislation which have amounted to nothing more than political posturing. The government's misinformation bill was a disaster of epic proportions, prosecuted by the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, who, frankly, has demonstrated that she is not up to the job, because the misinformation bill was so bad that not a single non-government senator would back it from across the aisle.
The government was forced to dump the bill in one of the biggest humiliations we have seen this entire term. The bill united a wide cross-section of groups against it. Top lawyers, church groups and civil libertarian and human rights groups were all opposed.
Had this bill been in place during the Voice referendum, for instance, Labor would have weaponised it to gag opinions it didn't like or agree with. Thankfully for all of us living in this great democracy we call Australia, freedom of speech won the day. Now, of course in this same portfolio, the Prime Minister and his Minister for Communications are wasting even more time, resources and taxpayers' money on another unnecessary bill branded as committing to public ownership of the National Broadband Network.
The NBN is, in fact, already publicly owned. This is just more political posturing. This hapless government is seeking to amend its own legislation, which committed to the sale of the NBN.
The Prime Minister himself, in his second reading speech to the parliament on 25 November 2010—when, of course, he was not the Prime Minister—said: The … bill … sets out arrangements for the eventual sale of the Commonwealth's stake in the company once the NBN rollout is complete, including provisions for independent and parliamentary reviews prior to any privatisation, and for the parliament to have the final say on the sale.
The bill was even referred to a Senate inquiry, but there were only seven submissions made to the inquiry and not a single one from a government department or agency or even the NBN themselves. This whole thing is a stunt. It's a farce, and what the Albanese government is trying to do is run a deceptive and pathetic campaign along the lines of its notorious 'Mediscare' campaign.
But Australians won't be fooled by this government, because it's proven time and time again that it cannot be trusted to act on the most important issues. It does not keep its word, and it will attempt to deceive Australians at every turn. Well, I say to the Prime Minister, to members opposite and to the government: Australians are onto you.
They can see through you a million miles away. They've listened to your rhetoric, they've listened to your false promises, they've listened to your wrong priorities, and they do not believe you anymore. They do not trust you.
As for the Greens, the Greens had the opportunity to support a bill that would have banned gambling advertising during live sport, but they chose to get into bed with the government and vote against it. I'm sorry, but that is just a joke. Senator Hanson-Young: Well, do something about it now.
Senator HENDERSON: I will take that interjection. Senator Hanson-Young said, 'Well, do something about it.' I mean, give me a break, Senator Hanson-Young. Give me a break—all puff and no principle.
The Greens had the opportunity to make a really big difference in this country, but, rather than make a really big difference, the Greens— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Marielle Smith ): Senator Hanson-Young, on a point of order? Senator Hanson-Young: The point of order is misleading the chamber. Senator Henderson knows full well that the vote was never put on the coalition's bill, so it is absolute rubbish, and she should withdraw.
The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I don't believe that is a point of order. That is a debating point. Senator Henderson.
Senator HENDERSON: Thank you very much, Acting Deputy President. Senator Hanson-Young: Were you not here that day, Sarah? The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Sorry, Senator Henderson, before you continue, obviously I am acting in the chair.
Often it is the case, when a senator asks another to withdraw, just for the benefit of the chamber continuing— Senator HENDERSON: I am sorry, there is no point of order, Acting Deputy President. That is a debating point. There is no point of order.
I would put to you in my submission— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I agree it is a debating point. It is more the case that Senator Hanson-Young has asked you to withdraw. Senator HENDERSON: I'm sorry; it is not appropriate to ask me to withdraw.
The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Henderson, you're not in a debate with me. I am happy to refer it to the President, if you wish me to. Senator HENDERSON: If you could refer it to the President, thank you.
The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: That's fine. Senator Henderson, you have the call. Senator HENDERSON: Thank you very much, Acting Deputy President.
So, as I say, Australians are onto the Greens as well as onto Labor. And just imagine if we had a minority Labor-Greens-teals government after the next federal election. What a mess this country would be in.
What chaos this country would be in—the deals, the underhand conduct. The risk to this country would absolutely accelerate if the Greens got their hands on any sort of power arrangement with the Labor government. We have seen how bad the Albanese Labor government is.
Imagine how bad it would be if the Greens had their hands on the tillers of government. We cannot allow that risk to happen. This is nothing more than a stunt from the Greens.
The Greens have tried to cut a deal with the government in relation to gambling advertising. It hasn't worked, so, as we heard, Senator Hanson-Young wrote to the Minister for Communications and then dropped that letter to the papers in a desperate effort for publicity, knowing full well that the Albanese Labor government wouldn't support the bill. So, as I say, this is more posturing, this is more rubbish from the Greens, and it is a last-minute desperate attempt to cover up the fact that the Greens are so wrong.
Honourable senators interjecting— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: There are a lot of interjections in the chamber. Please just try and keep some order while we continue this debate. Senator HENDERSON: We are on the cusp of a federal election.
The incompetence we've seen— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Henderson, please resume your seat. Senator Hanson-Young, on a point of order? Senator Hanson-Young: On a point of order, I am wondering whether Senator Henderson— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: What is your point of order?
Senator Hanson-Young: My point of order is relevance. I am wondering whether Senator Henderson should declare her interest in taking donations from the gambling lobby. Honourable senators interjecting— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson-Young, resume your seat.
That is a debating point; it is not a point of order. Senator Henderson, I'm about to give you the call again, but can I ask that senators refrain from interjecting. Interjections are very disorderly.
Senator Henderson, you have the call. Please do not engage in a debate with me either. You have the call to continue your remarks.
Senator HENDERSON: Thank you very much, Acting Deputy President. I would like to raise a point of order—that is, reflecting on me as a senator. I would ask you to ask Senator Hanson-Young to withdraw that comment.
It is a complete reflection and must be withdrawn. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Hanson-Young? Senator Hanson-Young: I withdraw.
The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Hanson-Young, for assisting the chamber with its business. Senator Henderson, you have the call. Senator HENDERSON: We are on the cusp of a federal election, and the incompetence that we've seen from the Albanese government on gambling advertising is the incompetence that Australians are seeing every single day, right across this government, because no-one believes the Prime Minister when he says that you'll be better off under Labor.
You can fool people once but not twice. Under Labor's economic mismanagement, Australians are experiencing the longest sustained period of inflation since the 1990s. Again in the parliament this week Labor is in denial: 'There is nothing to see here.' There is nothing to see, of course, on gambling advertising.
What a debacle that has been from the government! But there has been nothing to see from this government in terms of its economic management of this country, other than that interest rates have increased 12 times, energy bills have risen by up to a thousand dollars, living standards have collapsed, 27,000 businesses have gone insolvent and we are in a record-breaking household recession.
The Prime Minister, Mr Albanese, has offered no comfort to Australians—including Australians who've lost a lot of money through gambling. He's done absolutely nothing. This is just another example of the incompetent and weak Albanese government.
That's why a Dutton government must be installed at the next federal election.