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

Senator CHISHOLM (Queensland—Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Assistant Minister for Resources and Deputy Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (17:42): Thanks, Senator Pocock, for the question and also for moving the amendments. Just to be clear, the government will be opposing these amendments.

We will not be supporting them. As I mentioned when I was responding to Senator Faruqi before, we believe that the gambling reform bill seeks to deliver real, deliverable and lasting measures that will genuinely tackle gambling harm. The reforms in this bill have been targeted to address key community concerns at the same time.

That's why I emphasise that balanced package approach that we're taking, which will significantly reduce the exposure to wagering advertising—particularly for children and vulnerable people, which we believe is important—and also the work that would be done in regard to the opt-out system online. We believe that this approach gets the balance right between what is a legitimate industry that's allowed to advertise and protecting and responding to community concerns at the same time.