Online gambling ad ban an opportunity to cement MP’s legacy: Independents
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Independents are calling on the Albanese Government to build on the legacy of the late Labor MP Peta Murphy by banning online gambling ads as Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says it is still considering a report recommending the move. Source: The Age.
An advertising ban phased in over three years was one of the key recommendations of a cross-party committee into online gambling harm, which was chaired by Ms Murphy and delivered its report to the government in June.
Independent senator David Pocock said it was not often that a committee report had the backing of members from the major parties as well as the crossbench.
He said there was an opportunity to build on Ms Murphy’s legacy and to “truly make a difference … the choice for government is do they do what the parliament has recommended and what most Australians want, or do they do what the gambling industry would like them to do?”
The gambling sector, along with sports bodies and TV firms, opposes an outright ad ban, while the Greens, crossbenchers and anti-gambling advocates are in favour.
Australians spend the most in the world, per capita, on legal forms of gambling, losing $25 billion every year. Their participation in online gambling jumped from 12.6 per cent in 2010-11 to 30.7 per cent in 2019, the committee found.
On Friday, Ms Rishworth would not commit to an advertising ban but said the Government was giving the report the “diligent attention that it deserves”.
Independent MPs Kate Chaney, Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel also expressed support for a gambling ad ban to honour Ms Murphy’s memory.
