MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Mr GEE (Calare) (15:17): I have brought this matter of public importance to the House because we are in a crisis, and it's a crisis the country is yet to come to grips with: gambling. The consequences of gambling can be catastrophic, including job loss, bankruptcy, broken relationships, domestic and family violence, and suicide. The Productivity Commission estimates that the social cost of problem gambling in 2024 was up to $12.5 billion.

The tragic human cost is heartbreaking and is there for all to see in every community in Australia if we're prepared to listen and look. We need to ban gambling advertising. Two months ago I attended a gambling roundtable here at parliament.

We heard from Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja, who called the government out for being too slow to ban gambling advertising. We also heard from 'Kate', who didn't want to be identified and whose brother took his life by suicide, brought on by gambling. 'Kate' said her brother lost $10,000 a year from gambling. She said: This is exactly the burden that our 24-year-old brother was carrying six days before he ended his life.

On this particular day he walked into the kitchen with pain all over his face and I could tell something was wrong, so I prompted him, are you okay? … He could barely find the words. Six days later, my dad, sister and I found him 500 metres from our childhood home. The sound dad made, the look on my sister's face, haunts me every moment of every day. 'Kate' said her brother's suicide note stated: I'm so disgusted and revolted with myself that I want to end my life before my addiction ruins more people around me.

That roundtable features on the ABC's Four Corners program. Just two weeks ago, another ABC Four Corners program aired on the subject of gambling. In it was an interview with Richmond AFL club fan Shaun McDonough, known as Tiger Shaun because he puts on his suit of armour in the guise of a tiger suit for every game.

Shaun said in a three-year period he lost around $200,000 despite being on the government's self-exclusion register, BetStop. Shaun told Four Corners: It eats at you inside. It just eats you away.

All we think about 24/7 is gambling. He spoke of the shame and humiliation that will never go away. He went on to say: The advertising that you see on TV and then the thoughts that start going through your mind and the thoughts that you know, being on the ... train tracks, you know, after coming out of Centrelink, calling my daughter saying that I've got no money to buy food ... it's not a good situation for anyone to be in.

The late Peta Murphy led the way on this issue. Her parliamentary committee report—and I have a copy of it right here—is titled You win some, you lose more: online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm. It made 31 recommendations.

These included treating gambling as a public health issue and banning gambling ads during sports broadcasts. Two years on, the government is yet to respond to the report. How could that possibly be?

Gambling advertising is a constant source of concern among community members in Calare. I recently heard from constituents Jane Mitchell, from Bathurst; Aden Fisher, from Orange; and Chris Prest, from Canowindra. They are very concerned about the scourge of gambling addiction.

They have contacted me and they want our government, the government of Australia, to do something about it. According to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, people living in rural and remote communities are at a higher risk of experiencing gambling harm than other Australians. They are also less likely to seek help due to shame, stigma and the fear of judgement.

One of the reasons given for inaction on banning gambling advertising is that media outlets would lose revenue. It's true that media, and regional media in particular, are struggling, yet action is needed. As legislators, we need to find ways to implement a ban on gambling advertising and support vital media at the same time.

I believe that this could be achieved by introducing a 0.5 per cent levy on each bet placed by gamblers. This would raise $1.2 billion. That is almost 10 times the revenue that would be lost by TV stations.

This funding could be used by the government for advertising in regional and national media, including important messaging on support available to help break gambling addiction. It's crucial that we preserve the independence and viability of regional media, and this would be an effective way of doing it without placing an additional burden on taxpayers. So a support package such as this must be a vital part of a ban on gambling advertising, and I know that my colleague the member for Curtin has done a lot of work in this field, and she will no doubt shortly be speaking and will provide us with some more of the facts and figures on this particular issue.

Don't think for a moment that betting companies don't donate to the major parties. Trust me. I have been there and I have seen it.

I have been forced to sit in the hotel ballrooms of Canberra on corporate days when we had betting companies who are paying money to the parties talking to any MP they wanted to. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. So the addiction of the major parties to that revenue is another addiction that needs to be broken.

I'm also very shocked at how gambling has just become a part of watching sport, particularly for our young people. I can remember watching a rugby league game with my son in his younger years. He was a Bulldogs supporter and still is, and, as the game started, he was able to recount the betting odds.

Can you believe that—sitting there watching television with your son, and he is telling you the betting odds? That was some time ago, and since then the influence of betting and gambling has become all pervasive. It's time that we did something about it, because the price of inaction on a ban on gambling advertising is more lives destroyed and more lives lost.

We can't wait any longer. We are in this place and we have these jobs to make life better for the people that we represent, the people of Australia, and they are crying out for action. They want us to do something, yet, every time they ask, every time they call, their voices and their pleas are not heeded.

As a parliament and a country, we can do much better than this. We can't wait any longer. We need to ban gambling advertising, and we need to do it on the double.