Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026

Mr CONAGHAN (Cowper) (11:15): I'm pleased to rise to speak to the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill and I do so as the former chair of the committee that put forward what is known as the Murphy report. I'm glad to be speaking last because I've listened to many of the contributions to this bill and it would seem that there is a broad misunderstanding of the role of the committee.

The role of the committee wasn't to ban gambling. It wasn't to restrict choice for punters to go out and do just that—have a punt. It wasn't to cripple the gambling industry that creates over 30,000 jobs a year.

It was to stop the predatory practices by online wagering services that cause so much devastation throughout our communities, and that seems to be forgotten. The predatory practices by the online wagering services have gone on for so long. If I go through the history, we're going back to late 2022 when this committee started and the report wasn't published until mid 2023.

The late Peta Murphy, who was not only a highly intelligent lawyer but a fierce parliamentarian, was extremely passionate about this committee. During the inquiry, we heard from two different groups: (1) those who are affected; (2) those who inflict it. Witness after witness came into this place and spoke of loved ones, family members, who were targeted by predatory online wagering services.

Some of them survived; some of them didn't. We heard evidence from a family member who had to cut down her brother from a tree because he was targeted even though he had tried and tried and tried to get away from these practices of online wagering services. There are other people whose family members didn't survive because of the debt and the shame of what they went through.

Now, I accept we can't protect everybody from themselves but what we can do as a parliament is stop this type of behaviour from those who inflict it. Those online wagering services that gave evidence, in my view, simply diminished or demeaned the situation, placated the committee by saying, 'We will work with you,' but have since done nothing but lobby both sides to weaken the legislation, and they continue to do that today.

Everyone in this place is on a committee. I ask: What's the point? What is the point of being on a committee that delivers 31 recommendations unanimously—no dissenting reports—to the government to say, 'This is what we have considered.'?

This comes from evidence from people who have been affected. This comes from the intelligence of every single member sitting in this place on that committee, and we say, 'This is what should be implemented'—only to be discarded: 'Well, we're not going to take that into account.' What's the point? What's the point of having elected representatives come into this place and sit on committees and make recommendations?

Those recommendations don't just come from us; they come from our constituents. Why are we here? Labor sit over there and laud Peta Murphy—and so they should.

She was a wonderful woman and a great parliamentarian. Well, step up and make it not the Murphy recommendations or the Murphy report but the Murphy reform. Implement those 31 recommendations.

That won't make gambling fall off the face of the earth; that's rubbish. It's just like what they said when they cut advertising for smoking. Smoking rates have never been higher—you can thank the Labor government for that; that's a different issue.

The racing industry won't be affected. The gambling industry won't be affected. Those working won't be affected.

Gambling won't go overseas. Nothing will change except we will be providing those barriers for predatory practices on vulnerable people. Step up, Labor.

Step up and implement those recommendations, because Peta worked hard. We all worked hard on those recommendations, and we listened. They're not just stories; these are people.

These are real people who will suffer for the rest of their lives because of those practices. This bill, the main bill, does nothing. In fact, it waters down the 2018 position of the coalition.

There is no point to the main bill. It won't protect anyone. It won't stop the inducements and the predatory practices that we have seen.

I don't care if you gamble—I gamble—but gambling harm does not discriminate. As a lawyer, I acted for a young man who was another lawyer—highly intelligent—who stole a great deal of money from his employer, from the trust account. He knew, eventually, once that trust account was audited, he would be found out.

He was smart, but he couldn't stop. He was being targeted by these online wagering services, given inducements and money. We can't just say, 'Well, that's okay; it's up to an individual.' We have a responsibility.

The responsibility lies in those 31 recommendations. They should be implemented at least for the memory of Peta Murphy.