The Australian Greens have called Labor captured and the Liberals weak for their dirty deal on cowardly and careless gambling reform.
The Greens say the Albanese Labor government’s lack of political will to take on big gambling corporations and vested interests is leaving Australians worse off.
This major party stitch up will see Australians continue to be bombarded by gambling ads online and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people exposed to devastating gambling harm.
As stated by Larissa Waters, Leader of the Australian Greens:
“Anthony Albanese and the entire Labor party should hang their heads in shame today. Our Prime Minister has handed Australian screens over to predatory gambling companies.
“Generations of Australians who have suffered through the gambling industry’s bombardment will have the relentless ads follow them. How dare Anthony Albanese leave your living rooms, cars, YouTube, and even your kids Spotify playlists unsafe?
“This cowardly Labor-Liberal deal means Anthony Albanese chose to protect his party’s gambling donations rather than delivering evidence-based policy that protects people.
“It is a government’s job to look after people, but when Labor has the opportunity they bend the knee to wealthy donors, side with big corporations and leave Australians behind.
“Corporate donations are the fatal flaw of the Labor party. When they come under lobbyist pressure they choose their donors over people.
“A vote for Labor is a vote for the vested interests they protect. A vote for the Greens is a vote for people, not profits.”
As stated by Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens communications spokesperson:
“Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor have failed the moral test to protect Australian families.
“Labor has proven itself to be captured by the gambling industry while the Liberals are just weak.
“These laws are designed to fail. Gambling companies are the winners while once again Australian families are the biggest losers.
“This bill is so convoluted it looks less like gambling reform and more like a protection racket for the gambling industry. It is full of loopholes, delays and complexity designed to ensure it’s never actually used.
“Angus Taylor has shown that he is a weak leader. He is a pushover who has sold out for nothing more than the veneer of action.
“They have turned a straightforward reform into a dog’s breakfast of exemptions, carve-outs and red tape. That is not an accident; it’s how you protect the gambling industry from real accountability.
“The Murphy Report was very clear, as was the evidence to the Senate inquiry: to reduce gambling harm a full ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling is needed.
“These piecemeal and confusing amendments will not work and will not stop the predatory practices of gambling companies. It’s a dog’s breakfast of a deal that gives the appearance of reform while ensuring the industry can keep doing business as usual.
“Under these laws, gambling companies will still be able to groom vulnerable people and problem gamblers with inducements, they will still be able to flood the internet with harmful advertising and they will still not have any oversight from a national regulator.
“This bill allows online ads to continue. Addictive social media platforms will be able to continue pushing addictive gambling products to users. Social media platforms will continue to be able to use the data they have on users to personally target people directly with gambling ads and promotions.
“The community have made it abundantly clear that they want and expect real action to remove gambling ads. The government has failed.
“Both the Labor and the Liberal parties have chosen to prioritise the profits of the gambling companies over the interests of the community. It’s not hard to see why when the gambling industry has spent millions giving inducements in the form of political donations to both the Labor and the Liberal parties.
“The parliament had the opportunity to enact generational reform that would protect Australian children and families from the predatory behaviour of the gambling industry and instead they have backed their mates in the gambling industry.”
